A Bozeman man who was arrested this summer and is facing charges related to a 2021 homicide was released on bail this week from the Gallatin County Detention Center after a judge reduced his bail.

Austin Clowes, 25, was arrested in July and charged with deliberate homicide in the death of Steve Kilwein, a 79-year-old who was found dead in his home on North 9th Avenue in Bozeman on June 13, 2021.

Bozeman Police alleged Clowes’ phone was found in Kilwein’s yard during the investigation, and claimed that DNA evidence connected him further to the scene. Clowes pleaded not guilty in August.

Though a judge originally set his bail at $1 million, defense attorneys for Clowes asked for the bail to be reduced to $300,000, which was opposed by prosecutors from the state at a hearing in August.

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