Repeat offender charged with murder days after a nonprofit paid his bail

A repeat offender in Ohio was accused of murdering a man just days after a nonprofit paid his bail to release him from jail.

Fox 8 reported that authorities charged Donnie Allen with aggravated murder in the shooting death of 27-year-old Benjamin McComas at a Cleveland light rail station around 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 14. He is held on a $1 million bond.

Fox News reviewed court records and discovered that Allen was previously charged with drug possession, breaking and entering, vandalism, obstructing official business, and possessing criminal tools at a Cleveland light rail station on Dec. 4.

NEW from me: An Ohio repeat offender was released from jail after @bailproject paid his bail, then he went on to allegedly kill a man just five days later.https://t.co/ZWPV0wiNTf

— Adam Sabes (@asabes10) December 23, 2025

His bond was initially set at $15,000. However, on Dec. 8, Judge Joy Kennedy reduced it to $5,000.

After the reduction, the California-based Bail Project, a nonprofit, bailed out Allen for $500 on Dec. 9, according to court records. Just five days after being released from Cuyahoga County Jail, Allen was arrested for allegedly murdering McComas.

It was revealed that, in her 2024 responses to a questionnaire from The Marshall Project, Kennedy said she felt bail reform was necessary.

“Bail reform is necessary to address issues of inequities within the criminal justice system,” she said in the questionnaire. I believe this is an ever-evolving matter that must constantly be addressed to promote equal access to justice and prevent unnecessary pretrial detention.”

On Dec. 14, Allen’s attorney, James Jenkins, told Fox News that Allen never planned to murder McComas, adding that the alleged murder was “far from” an intentional homicide.

The news source also contacted the nonprofit, and a spokesperson for The Bail Project stated, “The Bail Project condemns violence, and we are deeply concerned by the recent allegation involving Mr. Allen.”

“Our mission at The Bail Project is to ensure that people are not jailed pretrial solely because they cannot afford bail. Our organization exists to address inequities in a system where wealth often determines who remains incarcerated before trial,” the group said. “Any loss of life is a tragedy, and we remain committed to building a fairer, more just pretrial system that respects due process, promotes safety, and avoids a misguided reliance on cash bail.”

However, the group refused to answer whether it considered Allen’s criminal record before bailing him out.

According to another Fox News report, even some of Allen’s family members objected to his release from prison.

Two family members, who asked to remain anonymous, told the news source that the nonprofit contacted them on Dec. 8 and Dec. 9 about posting bail for Allen, and warned that he should not be released because he would only continue committing crimes.

“No, this is not a good idea. You guys should just leave him where he is, because he’s been in and out and in and out of jail multiple times. He needs rehabilitation, not release,” a family member told the nonprofit.

The family members added that the nonprofit just ignored the warnings.

“We explicitly warned them that releasing him was a bad idea and that he would likely end up back in jail,” the individual added.