WOODBURY — A Sewell man charged with murdering a 30-year-old Gibbstown man by driving over him twice on a Paulsboro street on May 18 was denied a requested five-fold reduction in his $500,000 bail on Friday, Dec. 5.

The lawyer for Robert Springer, 26, claimed there may be “elements of mitigation” in the case, authorities said.

Attorney Leonard Grasso asked Superior Court Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson to lower his client’s bail to $50,000. Grasso said Springer, a graduate of the Gloucester County Institute of Technology who is on Social Security disability, has been in jail for six months.

Assistant Gloucester County Prosecutor Michelle Jeneby objected to any lower bail for Springer, saying he should be considered a risk of absconding, since he fled after the alleged homicide.  With him were his twin sister, Jessica, charged with tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension, and another occupant of the car.

The murder case remains an “ongoing investigation” with detectives looking into cell phone records and other possible witnesses, Jeneby said.

The victim, Eddie Lee Warthen, of Gibbstown, was struck twice by a four-door sedan at about 4:30 a.m.  He was pronounced dead at Cooper Medical Center in Camden about two hours later.

Judge Allen-Jackson  said Springer’s current bail “is a reasonable amount for the allegation of a homicide” and added she is also concerned that he may be a “flight risk.”