Former ballerina Ashley Bennefield will not be released on bonds awaiting her manslaughter charges in a firearm conviction after a Manatee County Circuit Court judge refused her claim Thursday.
Bennefield, 33, filed a motion in September 2020 at her Lakewood Ranch home after being sentenced to 20 years in prison for the shooting death of her estranged husband Doug Bennefield. She was initially charged with second degree murder.
Her defense would bond on the same terms of wearing an electronic monitor and having a curfew based on Benefield’s compliance with previous pretrial supervisor rules. He insisted that it should be permitted. The defense said Bennefield had previously been allowed to leave the area on three separate occasions during bonds, but has always returned.
Judge Matt White denied the benefits bond based on the nature and circumstances of the crime she was convicted of. The judge’s main concern is that if her appeal fails, Benefield poses a flight risk and that she needs to attract herself to serve her sentence.
Previous Report: Waiting begins for previous Florida Ballerina bond pending appeal decision
Previously: The former Florida ballerina’s ruling has been postponed. She is seeking a new trial for her husband’s murder
In November 2020, Bennefield has been more than a month since her lawyer fired multiple guns at her estranged husband, whom she claimed was self-defense after four years of upheaval and abusive relationship. He was arrested.
Doug Bennefield was at Ashley’s home on September 27, 2020, helping to pack in preparation for his move to Maryland. The couple was able to live separately and continue raising their young daughters.
Benefield’s defense claims Doug Benefield became aggressive towards his wife as he arrived in the evening, his body checked her with a cardboard box, refused to leave the house, and refused to block Beneidield I did. Fearing her life, Bennefield fled to her bedroom, grabbed a handgun and fired at Doug Bennefield, who was chasing her further into the house.
Court records show Benefield fled the house and the door beside his neighbor screamed. When the neighbor opened the door, he pointed out that she still had a gun and called police.
Prosecutors claim to shoot Bene Field and kill her husband in an attempt to gain only custody of the couple’s young daughter, and have his own hands after courts and law enforcement fail to help her I’ve taken it.
Continue reading: Manatee County Judge rejected the former ballerina’s new trial application before sentencing
Ashley Bennefield Trial: Former ballerina testifies on the fourth day of the murder trial
Why did Judge White deny the pending bond claim?
There are several factors that the defendant must meet in order for a judge in the court to grant them bonds in order to consider release after conviction. These include whether the defendants respect the law, whether they are attached to the local community, the severity of the sentences imposed, whether they are at flight risk, and the appeal is not frivolous but rather controversial. includes whether or not the case was done honestly for certain reasons.
White said the manslaughter conviction was promoted to first-degree felony using a firearm, but not a capital felony, and a number of offences that prohibit defendants from considering bail and release after conviction. He said it was not included.
He also found that Bennefield had no evidence to have any previous criminal history or pending accusations against her, and that “the basis of the appeal is rather controversial and not frivolous.” He says that.
However, White pointed out that while many people were willing to testify on behalf of the benefits nature, she had no concrete connections with the community. He says it’s not difficult for her to take her closest family in the area, her mother and 7-year-old daughter, leaving without having to leave her family.
He also points out that Benefield does not have a long-term occupation or history of employment with certain employers. Instead, her sporadic work history before her conviction and her offer of entry-level status upon release after conviction are at least in this case a strong community connection not in this case, but does not establish.
He also notes concerns about the risk of flight in Bennefield, based on testimony given about how close she is to her younger daughter. White misses “many important milestones and events” of her daughter’s life while welfare serves her sentence, and the person in Bennefield’s position “issues for “long sentences” I recognized it was reasonable to speculate that by escaping authority, we might feel a persuasive desire to avoid a long sentence. court. “
Gabriela Szymanowska partners with Report for America to cover the legal system of the Herald Tribune. You can report her work to the US by supporting her with tax-deductible donations. Please contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com or on Twitter.
