Bond was set at $225,000 on Friday for a woman accused of trying to kill her husband and then violating an order of protection he had in place against her.
Judge Bart Stanley ruled Brooke Hale, 34, couldn’t be held at Warren County Jail without bond and set it at $225,000. The ruling came as her husband and victim in the case, Mike Hale, contends charges should be dropped against his wife.
“They are trying to make my family life a show for the community,” said Mike Hale referring to the district attorney’s office. “Brooke didn’t do any of those things they said she did to me. I’ve gone up there and tried to explain that to them. She didn’t hit me with a motorcycle helmet and none of them chased me around the building. Let me ask you this. If you’d just been stabbed in the chest right next to your heart and been stabbed in the stomach too, do you think you could get away if three people were chasing you? That didn’t happen.”
Brooke Hale and her boyfriend, Jack Redmon, are charged with attacking Mike Hale in the parking lot of the VFW. They face attempted murder charges for the incident. Brooke made her $100,000 bond to get out of jail. However, Redmon has been unable to make his $300,000 bond and remains jailed.
The current case against Brooke Hale involves six phone calls she reportedly made to Mike Hale’s cellphone from Nov. 13 to Nov. 16. Prosecutors say those phone calls violate an order of protection against her and also violate conditions of her bond.
However, defense attorney Larry Bryant told Judge Stanley that in a Sept. 29 divorce hearing, Mrs. Hale was granted phone calls to her children. He claims the six phone calls made to Mike Hale’s number were for that purpose.
“She was granted phone calls with the children but it was left open-ended,” said Bryant. “There were no dates and times set for those phone calls to be made. Mr. Hale told me he doesn’t have a land line so the phone calls to the children had to come through him.”
Mike Hale contends his wife shouldn’t be in jail. He says they have started counseling and intend to save their marriage.
District Attorney General Lisa Zavogiannis says this isn’t the first time a victim has changed his or her story in an effort to protect a family member.
“This case has taken a turn to where the victim no longer wants us to do our job,” said Zavogiannis. “My objective is to always do the right thing. We have laws in the state of Tennessee and it’s my job to prosecute those who violate those laws. It’s not his authority to make the decision about how we handle a case.”
Another hearing has been set for this Tuesday to determine if bond should be lowered and to determine if the state can proceed with its case against Mrs. Hale for reportedly calling the phone of her husband.
Mike Hale says his wife never tried to hurt him that day at the VFW and produced a text message she sent him earlier that day trying to discourage a confrontation.
The text said, “Im at the mercy of jack. We are on the bike. We are trying to talk sense into jack.”
Mike Hale said events did not happen the way they have been presented by prosecutors.
“When they came to talk to me at the hospital, I was under anesthesia and was taking pain medication,” said Hale. “This was never between me and my wife. We weren’t fussing at all that day. This was between me and Jack. Now I’m at the mercy of the court to try and mend my family back together.”
Even though Mrs. Hale has been granted $225,000 bond, defense attorney Bryant says that won’t get her out of jail.
“The truth is she’s probably not going to make that,” he told Judge Stanley.
Brooke Hale’s attempted murder trial isn’t set to begin until June 29. As it stands now, she would have to remain in jail until that time if she can’t make bond, or unless something happens to the new charges against her for violating an order of protection and violating conditions of her bond.