Editor’s note: The Post Independent generally does not name juveniles charged with a crime but is doing so in this case because the defendant is being charged as an adult.

The juvenile defendant accused of stabbing a south Glenwood Springs resident after breaking into his home in the early morning hours of March 8 is being charged as an adult.

Angel Rivas Tellez, 17, will now have to answer to felony charges of attempted murder and burglary before District Judge James Boyd, after the new charges were filed this week by 9th District Attorney Jeff Cheney.

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Tellez’s juvenile case was dismissed Wednesday by Garfield County Judge Paul Metzger, who also set bond at $250,000.

Tellez appeared before Metzger via videoconference from a juvenile detention center in Mesa County. He will remain in the juvenile facility while his case is pending, at least until he turns 18.

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Deputy District Attorney Tony Hershey asked for a higher bond of $500,000 due to serious concerns around community safety and the possibility Tellez may try to flee to his native Mexico.

“If he does, we may never see him again,” Hershey said. “The victim is scared to death he might get out and try to finish the job.”

Hershey painted a picture of a premeditated crime in which Tellez allegedly had been keeping notes on how to break into a home with the intent of committing a violent crime.

Around 2 a.m. March 8, Tellez allegedly used a crowbar to pry open a basement window and knew which bedroom to find the victim, who Hershey said was stabbed “at least 30 times” before Tellez fled the scene.

The victim was transported to an area hospital and survived his injuries.

The neighborhood was initially on high alert while Glenwood Springs police investigated the incident. Police, however, determined early on once Tellez was identified as a person of interest in the case that there was not an immediate public threat.

Police also had to quell rumors later that day about possible school violence stemming from the incident.

“We were confident that this crime was a targeted and deliberate offense, based on perceived and prior transgressions,” according to a Glenwood Springs Police statement issued at the time Tellez was detained.

Still, Hershey said there were enough concerns expressed by officials at Tellez’s school in Glenwood Springs that he believes a higher bond is warranted.

Public defender Elise Myer acknowledged that Tellez has had behavioral issues at his school but said that he had been subjected to bullying and comes from a family with a history of domestic violence.

She asked that a much lower bond of $15,000 or $20,000 be set instead. She said Tellez has strong support from his mother and a “father figure” who is now in his life.

Both his mother and the man spoke on Tellez’s behalf in court on Wednesday, asking for the lower bond amount and that the case remain in juvenile court.

“This is not a young man who doesn’t have a care in the world,” Myer said. “But he has done a good job to seek some betterment for himself and has asked to go to therapy. There are some questions about his ability to understand and perceive what is happening.”

Even though Tellez is being charged as an adult, Myer said it’s unlikely he will face the same penalty as an adult, if he is convicted, because of his age.

Tellez is due back in court before Judge Boyd on April 7 for a return on formal filing in the case.

Senior Reporter/Managing Editor John Stroud can be reached at 970-384-9160 or jstroud@postindependent.com.