BOULDER - Jared Guy walked out of the Boulder County Jail on Thursday after his bond was reduced to $5,000 because he tentatively agreed to testify against his friends in the Linda Damm murder case.

Following his release, Guy, 18, embraced his mother as she cried softly and held him. He was wearing the black blazer and blue jeans he had on at the winter dance at Westminster's Standley Lake High School, where he was arrested a month ago.

Guy, a senior at New Vista High School, is charged with being an accessory after the crime and tampering with evidence. Police say he helped bury Damm's body, then dug it back up with his longtime friend Bryan Grove, who is charged with murdering the 52- year-old Lafayette woman.

Boulder County Judge Lael Montgomery agreed to lower Guy's bond amount from $50,000 because of his pending deal with prosecutors.

Guy won't spend anymore time behind bars if he pleads guilty to the lesser felony of tampering with evidence, Deputy District Attorney Adrian VanNice said, but he also will have to assist in the prosecution of the other teens in the case, including his "brother," Grove.

Both Guy and Grove were adopted by Boulder County families from an orphanage in India.

Grove, 17, stabbed Damm to death in early February in her Lafayette home, police said. His girlfriend - the victim's daughter, 15-year-old Tess Damm - is charged with conspiring in the slaying.

Police reported that Grove told Guy he killed the woman in self-defense, and Guy pleaded with him to go to police.

But Grove would not listen, Guy said, so he agreed to help hide the body at an Erie dump. However, their car got stuck in the mud, so they turned around and went home.

The following night, Guy said, he and Grove dug a shallow grave at Boulder's Green Mountain Cemetery and put Linda Damm's body in it. They later returned because Grove was afraid it would be discovered, police said.

Days before his arrest, Guy had been awarded the Metropolitan Mayors and Commissioners Youth Award by the Boulder County commissioners for overcoming adversity and serving as an inspiration and role model.

"He's a good kid. Good kids make mistakes," said Kady Offen, who attended Thursday's hearing to support Guy. Her son, Prasun Rovtar, is friends with Guy.

Montgomery told Guy to have no contact with his co-defendants or Damm's family and to follow the orders of the probation department that will be supervising him until his next hearing May 10.