Lenient bonds make job of police tougher

Published 12:00 am Sunday, September 1, 2002

When residents complain about crime in Selma, Police Chief Robert Green is always among the first to hear about it. That’s because his department is charged with keeping the streets safe.

But Green insists police aren’t always to blame when residents are victimized by crime.

After a rash of recent cases involving break-ins and armed robberies, Green complained that low bonds are returning suspects to the streets faster than police can arrest them.

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He cited the case of Tim Posey, who was arrested Aug. 22 after he allegedly robbed the Conoco Station store at the intersection of Broad Street and Highland Avenue. Posey had been arrested Aug. 13 in connection with two other armed robberies.

Posey was out on $7,900 bond in the two earlier cases &045; which have not even come to court yet &045;&045; when he allegedly robbed the Conoco Station. Green called that &uot;absolutely ridiculous.&uot;

Dallas County District Attorney Ed Greene said better communication between his office and the police department could help prevent any future such misunderstandings.

Greene pointed out that the police department makes recommendations to the district attorney’s office on how high a bond to recommend in each particular case.

He added that in some of the cases he was not aware that the department wanted the bonds either raised or revoked.

Police Lt. Bill Hamner agreed that communication between the district attorney’s office and police is sometimes a problem.

Hamner, who is vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police Selma Lodge No. 12, said the bonds police prescribe are taken from a bond schedule, which is created by the Alabama Supreme Court and which assigns certain bonds to certain offenses.

Hamner added that police then communicate that information to the district attorney’s office.

The district attorney’s office can then recommend a bond based on information provided by the police. Judges then make decisions on final bond amounts and have the ability to either raise or lower bonds on a particular defendant.

Another case that prompted an outpouring of protests from the victims, residents and police was the recent attempted armed robbery of the Burger King restaurant on Dallas Avenue. Kelvin Ellis and Andre Ellis were arrested and charged in that case.

Kelvin Ellis allegedly pointed a gun at one of the employees and pulled the trigger, only to have the gun fail to go off.

Dallas County District Court Judge Nathaniel Walker initially set bond in that case at $15,000 and $10,000 respectively for Kelvin Ellis and Andre Ellis. Since defendants in a criminal case are only required to post 8 percent of the total bond amount, the defendants would have only had to pay $1,200 and $800.

Court records indicate that Kelvin Ellis had been arrested six times on five different charges prior to the Burger King incident. Records also indicate that he failed to appear in court four times.

Retired District Court Judge Miller Childers said that based on the circumstances of the case and the defendants’ prior convictions, he believed that the initial bond for Kelvin Ellis should have been raised much higher.

Circuit Court Judge Jack Meigs later raised the bonds to $50,000 and $25,000.

While Meigs said he could not comment on the specifics of the case, he did say that the circuit court rarely overrules any decision on the amount of bond made by the district court.

Greene, when asked about some of the cases, first said that bonds are usually determined according to the bond schedule.

The district attorney’s office, he added, makes recommendations to the court as to how high the bond should be set, something which the court can either reject or accept.

Greene said the district attorney’s office usually follows the bond schedule when recommending the amount of bond.

However, he noted that the DA’s office may recommend that bonds be raised above the &uot;usual amount,&uot; depending on the circumstances of a particular case.

Asked about the Burger King incident, Greene said that the original bond recommended by the district attorney’s office was high enough to prevent the defendants from being let out on bond.