Bond was lowered this week for a Cortez man charged with attempted murder in the shooting of his common-law wife.
Filed by defense attorneys Richard Sims and Cameron Seacrist, a motion to reduce bond was granted by Montezuma County Court Judge JenniLynn Lawrence on Wednesday, Jan. 20. The $250,000 bond for their client, Garrett “Ty” Baxstrom, 38, was lowered to $100,000.
Baxstrom is charged with attempted murder and multiple counts of assault in connection to the alleged shooting of his common-law wife on Aug. 15, 2015.
“He’s here, and he’s always going to be here,” Sims argued, stating that bond was meant to ensure a defendant’s appearance in court.
The motion to lower bond was filed so Baxstrom could pay legal fees, according to Lawrence.
Assistant District Attorney Sean Murray objected to the request, saying that legal fees were an inappropriate and irrelevant argument.
“I’ve never heard of the court changing bond based on this,” Murray said.
Bond conditions require Baxstrom to be monitored by GPS and submit to sobriety testing.
During a near two-hour preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Montezuma County Sheriff’s detective Tyson Cox testified that the alleged victim said Baxstrom pulled her out of a vehicle, pinned her to the ground and repeatedly punched her in the face, saying “Just go out.” After stuffing sticks, dirt and gravel in the alleged victim’s mouth, Cox testified that Baxstrom threatened that he was going to bury the woman.
In an attempt to flee, Cox said the victim rolled down a hill into a ditch. That’s when Baxstrom reportedly fired three shots with two weapons, Cox said.
According to testimony, a pellet from a shotgun blast lodged in the woman’s cheekbone, two of her teeth were nearly knocked out, and she suffered a concussion.
At the preliminary hearing, Lawrence determined the case should be sent to district court.
“There’s evidence that a reasonable person could believe that Mr. Baxstrom committed these crimes,” she said.
Sims disagreed, arguing in his closing statement that the only evidence provided were “baseless, bare bounds accusation from victim.”
Baxstrom will appear before District Court Judge Todd Plewe on Feb. 16.
At this week’s hearing, Lawrence also initially approved a defense request to allow Baxstrom supervised visitation with his 3-year-old daughter. As the hearing drew to a close, Lawrence backtracked, stating that the child must undergo a trauma assessment before she’d grant visitation.
Baxstrom remains out of custody after posting bond on Aug. 27.
tbaker@the-journal.com