Windshield death suspect back in jail
Posted on 03/09/2002 2:34:29 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Windshield death suspect back in jail
Bail raised to $250,000; FW woman taken into custody for third time
03/09/2002
FORT WORTH - A woman accused of hitting a man with her car and leaving him to die, entangled in her windshield, returned to jail Friday when a judge raised her bail from $10,000 to $250,000.
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Even if the bail is met, Ms. Mallard will spend the weekend in jail. Probation officers in charge of monitoring bond conditions cannot pick her up until Monday morning, said Lt. Mack West, jail supervisor.
Her bond conditions, which 371st District Judge James Wilson set during a hearing, include being under house arrest at her parents' Fort Worth home, wearing an electronic monitor, no driving, no alcohol use, and drug testing three times a week.
LAWRENCE JENKINS / DMN Dorothy Ballard (left) accompanies her daughter, Chante J. Mallard, to the court hearing in Fort Worth. |
Judge Wilson also placed a gag order on Ms. Mallard's lawyer and on prosecutors in the case. Her parents attended the hearing but declined to comment.
Ms. Mallard, a nurse's aide who was fired Thursday after the murder charge became public, sobbed in the courtroom and continually dabbed her eyes with a tissue before sheriff's deputies led her away.
During the hourlong hearing, defense attorney Mike Heiskell brought Ms. Mallard's parents and her brother, a lieutenant with the Fort Worth Fire Department, to testify about the former Girl Scout's willingness to attend future court proceedings.
"I guarantee you she's not going anywhere. She doesn't have anywhere to go and doesn't know where to go," Mr. Heiskell said, asking the judge to "look past the emotion and determine what is right and just."
But Assistant District Attorney Richard Alpert argued that the $10,000 bond Ms. Mallard posted Wednesday was insufficient and that she has an unstable work history and sought counseling only after she was charged in Mr. Biggs' death.
"It's no secret the community is outraged by her actions," Mr. Alpert said. "This defendant has friends who helped her cover up the crime."
Police said Ms. Mallard struck Mr. Biggs in October as he walked along U.S. Highway 287 near the Loop 820 split, and then drove home with him entangled in her windshield.
Although he was severely injured, Mr. Biggs, a former school bus driver and bricklayer who was homeless at the time of the accident, was not dead, police said. Ms. Mallard left him trapped in her car, which she hid in the garage of her home on the south side of Fort Worth, investigators said.
Police said that Ms. Mallard repeatedly apologized to the injured man, checking on him several times over a two- or three-day period, but that she never summoned help. After Mr. Biggs died, Ms. Mallard and at least one friend dumped his body in a nearby park, where he was found Oct. 27, police said.
A woman came to police in February, saying Ms. Mallard admitted to the crime at a party, police said. Investigators questioned Ms. Mallard and arrested her Feb. 26 on a felony charge of failure to stop and render aid.
Mrs. Mallard posted a $5,000 bond that day, but she was arrested a second time after police upgraded the charge to murder Wednesday. She was released that day after posting a $10,000 bond.
A trial date has not been set.
Police said Friday that they are continuing to investigate the case and are looking for anyone else who may have helped dump Mr. Biggs' body.
E-mail ncalaway@dallasnews.com
Yes. If it happened in another state, I would be worried. For Texas it might be well within the norm so lawyer has a point when he says that the case is "overblown".
Exciting news-- I'll FReepmail ya.
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