SALT LAKE CITY — Utah violinist John Shin appeared in court Tuesday after being detained by ICE several weeks ago.
His attorney, Adam Crayk, said Shin’s case is unique and that there were hundreds of letters written to the judge on Shin’s behalf.
“We've never seen that kind of community support,” Crayk said. “It was specifically mentioned by the judge that she saw that there was an enormous outpouring from the community, which candidly made a difference.”
WATCH: Music community holds benefit concert the night before Utah violinist's ICE detention hearing
Crayk said during the hearing, the government argued that Shin was still a danger to the public due to some speeding citations and his impaired driving conviction from 2020. The judge then granted a bond of $25,000.
“I have not seen a bond amount for that much on this type of case,” Crayk said. "We knew that because of the huge amount of community support, the GoFundMe was so amazingly important in this case, because it actually produced the ability for us to pay this bond amount.”
Shin’s wife, Danae Snow, was still in Colorado when FOX 13 News spoke with her, but she said she was watching Monday night’s benefit concert virtually, floored by all the support for her husband.
“These people are our dear, dear friends who are so talented, and to just see a stage full of people that we love so much, sharing their talents and their gifts in support of John, was just the most beautiful experience,” she said through tears.
Snow said they would not have been able to afford his legal fees or the bond on their own.
“Sometimes you donate, and who knows how much time passes, or you're not sure how it's helping, but for us today, this is a huge win, not only for me and John, but a win for love and a win for the community,” she said.
Snow said she was able to visit Shin in person through the glass.
“He still can't believe it. When I was talking to him today, he was just in shock when I was giving him the updates,” she said. "He's just so humbled and just amazed by our community.”
Crayk said they have to wait until Wednesday to make sure the government has not appealed the judge’s decision, which he sees more often.
“Even though we've won a bond, even though the bond's been granted, they have this bypass authority where they can just tell the judge, 'We're not going to agree,' and then we have to go through the whole entire process with the person staying in custody,” he said.
According to Shin’s attorney, if no appeals are filed on behalf of the government within 24 hours, they should be able to pay Shin‘s bond, with hopes that they will process him quickly so he can be released from the facility in Colorado.
