He's being charged with the death of a Gainesville police lieutenant, but now it will a lot less expensive for the 21-year-old defendant to bond out of jail.

Circuit Judge Stan Morris reduced Austin Wright's bond from 500,000 dollars to 100,000 dollars Friday morning during a bond hearing at the Alachua County Courthouse.

Authorities say Wright was driving under the influence when he struck Gainesville Police Lieutenant Corey Dahlem in the early morning hours of April 3.

Police say Wright's blood-alcohol-level was three times higher than the legal limit the night of the accident, and Dahlem eventually died from the wounds he suffered.

The officer's family and the police chief wrote letters to the judge asking that the bond amount remain at half-a-million dollars.

Wright and his father spoke on his behalf.

"Austin expresses to us daily his profound remorse and sorrow, and has expressed this to the Dahlem family and the police department by letter," said Clark Wright Sr., Austin Wright's father.

By David Hamilton/WCJB TV 20 News