YORK Whether a 24-year-old gunshot victim survives the days after surgery to repair the damage a bullet did to his liver and pancreas will determine whether a York man charged with attempted murder will receive a bond or be tried as a murder defendant.

Ramon Latavius Baxter, 18, appeared before 16th Circuit Court Judge Edward Miller on Thursday for a bond hearing.

But after hearing from prosecutors and family that the gunshot victim, Skyler Hall, is suffering from blood clots around his liver and a hospital-derived bacteria that “laughs” at antibiotics, Miller decided to not set Baxter’s bond until he knows whether Hall will survive.

On July 26, Winthrop police stopped Aaron Steward, also 24, for reckless driving, according to a Rock Hill police report. Steward’s passenger, Hall, had been shot. Winthrop authorities contacted Rock Hill police and EMS.

Hall told police that three men went into his North Confederate Avenue home during a drug deal and one of the men shot him. Hall was taken to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

York police arrested Baxter later that night. He was charged with attempted murder, armed robbery, criminal conspiracy and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Since his arrest, he has been held at the York County Detention Center without bond.

A week later, police arrested 23-year-old Michael Robert Wylie Jr. in connection with the robbery and shooting. Police also arrested a 16-year-old in connection with the robbery, charging him with attempted murder, criminal conspiracy, weapon possession and armed robbery.

An arrest warrant alleges that Wylie “knowingly, willfully and unlawfully” entered Hall’s home with a black revolver and that while inside, Wylie shot Hall in the gut.

That gunshot sent a bullet straight into Hall’s stomach, through his pancreas, bruising his liver and lodging in muscle tissue in the Rock Hill man’s back, said Hall’s stepfather, Derek Williams.

Hall underwent surgery Wednesday, but recently has been diagnosed with an “antibiotic-resistant” hospital bacteria, and he has several blood clots circling his liver.

“It’s still touch and go,” said E.B. Springs, assistant 16th Circuit Court solicitor. “He may not live.”

“He’s not in good shape at all,” Williams said, adding that Hall’s mother declined to appear at the bond hearing because “she’s been emotional.”

Hall’s liver is failing, Springs said, and he’s suffering from internal bleeding and jaundice.

Since the surgery was just a day before the hearing, Judge Miller was “hesitant” to make a ruling. If Hall dies, he said, “it would change everything.”

The last word Springs received was that Hall was stabilized after surgery. Lawyers will wait at least another month or two to see whether Hall survives. If he doesn’t, all three defendants will be charged with murder under the state’s “the hand of one is the hand of all” law – which holds all persons connected with a death responsible, even those who did not physically cause the death.

Wylie remains in jail on a $732.50 commitment charge. He is scheduled to appear before a Circuit Court judge for a bond hearing on Oct. 26. The juvenile is also being held.