(CNN) -- A man who allegedly tried to break into the home of a recently widowed Oklahoma woman -- who shot and killed his alleged fellow intruder after calling 911 -- was freed Thursday on bail despite a first-degree murder charge, a court clerk said.





Although he did not fire the fatal shot, 29-year-old Dustin Louis Stewart is charged with first-degree felony murder in the incident because if someone dies during the commission of certain crimes, such as burglary, an alleged accomplice can be charged in the death, prosecutors have said.





A hearing for Stewart was held Thursday in the central Oklahoma city of Chickasha, five days after the incident. During that hearing, Stewart posted the $50,000 bond and was released, Grady County court clerk Jessica Pickle told CNN.





Prosecutors recommended that $50,000 be set as the bail amount, according to a court document. Stewart was ordered not to have any contact with the alleged victim -- in this case, Sarah Dawn McKinley, who fired the fatal shot -- and to appear next in court the morning of January 20.





A preliminary hearing in the case is set for May 23, the document signed by Stewart states.





The incident has caught the nation's attention because part of the action was captured during a 911 conversation.





Home alone with her 3-month-old son, McKinley of Blanchard, Oklahoma, said she decided to make a stand when the two men tried to break into her home on New Year's Eve.





McKinley, who had been widowed less than a week before, placed a couch in front of one door and went to the bedroom and put a bottle in her baby's mouth before calling 911, she said on HLN's "Dr. Drew" on Wednesday.





A 911 operator calmly spoke with McKinley, who asked if it was permissible to shoot an intruder, officials said.





"I've got two guns in my hand. Is it OK to shoot him if he comes in this door?" asked McKinley, 18.





"Well, you have to do whatever you can do to protect yourself," dispatcher Diane Graham responded. "I can't tell you that you can do that, but you do what you have to do to protect your baby."





In the end, McKinley fired a 12-gauge shotgun and killed Justin Shane Martin after he entered her home, according to a Blanchard Police Department affidavit filed in court Wednesday. Martin was armed with a knife, authorities said.





"You have to make a choice, you or him. I chose my son over him," McKinley said to CNN Oklahoma City affiliate KWTV.





First Assistant District Attorney James Walters told CNN that McKinley will not be charged because she acted in self-defense.





"A person has the right to protect themselves, their family and their property," Walters said.





As for the 911 operator's guidance?





"I would agree with that advice," the prosecutor said.





It's not uncommon for charges to be filed against an alleged accomplice in cases where two people are committing a crime and a death occurs, even that of a co-conspirator, said Trent Baggett, assistant executive coordinator at the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council.





"It's all dependent upon if the situation warrants it and the facts warrant it," he said. "... If in the commission of a qualifying offense, someone gets killed, then yes, (first-degree murder charges) can and probably will be filed upon the person who doesn't die."





Even if they didn't pull the trigger themselves? "Under Oklahoma law, it doesn't matter," Baggett said. And people have been convicted of first-degree murder under such circumstances, he added.





Graham was the first of two 911 operators to speak with McKinley.





The dispatcher told HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell on Wednesday she learned in training that she could not tell a caller to shoot someone but, "as a mother, I wanted her to protect her baby."





"She did a very good job
How much was the bond? What did court document say the man can't do? What is Steward charged with? Who fired the gun? How much was the bond for? Who was the shooter? Did he make bail?
$50,000 have any contact with the alleged victim first-degree felony murder Sarah Dawn McKinley, $50,000 Sarah Dawn McKinley, was freed Thursday on
question: How much was the bond?, answer: $50,000 | question: What did court document say the man can't do?, answer: have any contact with the alleged victim | question: What is Steward charged with?, answer: first-degree felony murder | question: Who fired the gun?, answer: Sarah Dawn McKinley, | question: How much was the bond for?, answer: $50,000 | question: Who was the shooter?, answer: Sarah Dawn McKinley, | question: Did he make bail?, answer: was freed Thursday on