Bond denied again for former ‘Idol’ star Kennedy after SC man killed in DUI crash

One-time “American Idol” contestant Caleb Kennedy will remain in jail after a circuit court judge declined to set bond Thursday until results of blood tests are completed by the State Law Enforcement Division.

The South Carolina teen is charged with felony driving under the influence resulting in death after a crash that killed a man who was sitting in a garage.

After the judge denied bond to Kennedy on Thursday, Kennedy’s lawyer Ryan Beasley erupted, saying, “This is ridiculous, just because they don’t have their act together.”

Seventh Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette started to respond in a raised voice before Judge Edward Miller said sternly, “I’ve made my ruling” and abruptly ended the hearing and recessed the court.

Warrants allege Kennedy, 17, was under the influence of marijuana when his 2011 Ford F-150 truck crashed into a garage outside a home in Pacolet, South Carolina, killing Larry Duane Paris, 54, on Feb, 8.

Paris’ daughter Kelsey addressed the court in an emotional plea to keep Kennedy in jail.

She detailed what the past three weeks have been like for her family.

“I see my daddy laying in his own shop, moaning and groaning, with a stranger not even calling 911,” she said in a wavering voice, her mother, Donna, beside her.

“He killed my dad, point blank,” Kelsey Paris said. “I wish I could pay a little bit of money or a lot of money to have my daddy back.”

Kennedy started crying several times during the hearing, including during Paris’ testimony and when Barnette showed photos of the scene.

Kennedy was charged Feb. 8 with felony driving under the influence resulting in death and has been held in the Spartanburg County Detention Center since. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.

Barnette told the court Kennedy drove 175 yards down a driveway, ran over Paris and was stopped by a large machine in Paris’ garage.

He showed photos from the scene, including one that showed the truck all the way inside the garage.

Kennedy was arrested at 7:21 p.m. that evening after being treated at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center.

Barnette said Larry Paris was on the phone with his best friend when he was run over.

The friend called Donna Paris to tell her to check on her husband.

“Something just happened,” Barnette quoted the friend as saying.

He said Kennedy had been to Walmart and “got a hit from a vape.”

Kennedy told someone at the scene he was “f---ed up, he was tripping.” Barnette said.

Beasley said Kennedy’s prescription for Prozac had just been doubled.

“He had a bad reaction,” Beasley said. “This is a very, very sad situation and accident.”

Beasley described Kennedy as being disoriented.

“He didn’t know what he was doing,” Beasley said.

Beasley asked for a $20,000 bond, home detention and GPS monitoring.

Kennedy, a Roebuck, S.C., native, sang his way to the final five contestants on “American Idol” in 2021 but left the show May 12 after he told producers about a video that showed him sitting with someone dressed in what appeared to be a Ku Klux Klan hood. The video was circulated at his school, Dorman High School, and made its way onto social media.

Kennedy’s mother, Anita Guy, said at the time the video was made when her son was 12. The hood was intended to look like one from the movie “The Strangers,” she said. She believed it was leaked by someone jealous of her son’s success.

Kennedy was on season 19 of American Idol, which premiered Feb. 14, 2021.

Kennedy has been performing in local shows in South Carolina since he left “Idol.” He is a junior at Dorman High.

This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 11:49 AM.