A Hamilton County judge is considering a bond reduction in a 2009 cold-case slaying after the accused's attorney argued Tuesday that state evidence "barely meets probable cause" to charge his client.
Assistant Public Defender Kevin Loper said prosecutors are relying on testimony from an incarcerated man who told authorities after Franklin Bonner's Jan. 16, 2009, slaying that Mallory Vaughn was involved. Though investigators say the incarcerated man, Nicholas Cheaton, gave details that match crime scene evidence, Loper said Cheaton had another motivation: He "proffered" that information to investigators with the hope of less severe prosecution on other charges he faced around that time.
Mallory VaughnOther than Cheaton, Loper argued, the state has no DNA or fingerprint evidence that links Vaughn to the scene, or that justifies his indigent client's $750,000 bond on felony murder and especially aggravated robbery charges.
Vaughn previously participated in the investigation in 2009, 2010 and 2011 before the case went cold, denied any involvement in two interviews with Chattanooga police detectives and provided fingerprints and DNA swabs, Loper said. If he's given a reduced bond, Vaughn's sister testified, he could live with her family. His employer of five years, Richard Smith, also testified Vaughn could return to his paving and construction job.
"[My argument] mainly comes down to the amount of evidence against Mr. Vaughn," Loper said to Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Tom Greenholtz. "It barely meets probable cause. I don't believe [Cheaton] can be seen as reliable. He waits a year to come forward to say that? And then we wait nine years to prosecute [Vaughn]? There is DNA and fingerprints collected. But none of it matches my client. It matches another person."
Opposed to Loper's client, prosecutors said Vaughn and a then-minor tied Bonner up, robbed him and evaded justice until District Attorney General Neal Pinkston's cold-case investigators reopened the case and brought charges in June on the strength of new developments. Specifically, authorities sent fingerprints originally collected from the scene to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the agency said they match the minor - who is now 23 and faces murder and robbery charges in Hamilton County Juvenile Court. There is hearing scheduled later this month to determine if that suspect will be charged as an adult.
On the day in question, Linda Bonner said she found her husband, a former Chattanooga Department of Public Works employee, tied to a kitchen table and a chair inside their ransacked home on Enterprise Lane with duct tape around his feet, arms, head, nose and mouth. She said she had to cut the tape off his mouth and cried for help from neighbors. But it was too late for Franklin Bonner, who died of suffocation, a medical examiner ruled.
On Tuesday, Loper called Linda Bonner to the witness stand and questioned why a relative told authorities at the time of the killing that she was involved. Linda Bonner denied the allegation several times and explained her husband occasionally sold marijuana to trusted friends and associates. People sometimes came to their home and Franklin Bonner had been robbed before, in 1999, she said. But they never called police because of their involvement in illegal activity, she said.
As Loper made his arguments, prosecutors countered that Vaughn had criminal charges for marijuana possession and assault, had failed to appear in court before for less severe allegations and didn't always pay child support for a child of his in Florida. Executive Assistant District Attorney Cameron Williams explained that Cheaton gave consistent "corroborating" details to investigators on four occasions: During a conversation with Vaughn around the 2009 slaying, Cheaton said Vaughn mentioned a safe found on scene and described the robbery and act of duct taping.
"If he gives information that can be corroborated by on-scene evidence, that lends reliability," Williams said, opposing Loper's request for a reduced $10,000 bond. "And the court is correct - we are not putting all our proof on at a bond hearing."
Judge Greenholtz agreed the state "may have some proof," but he questioned whether he saw enough of it Tuesday. After the hearing, Greenholtz said he'd take the issue under advisement and told both parties to return to court Sept. 17.
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.
Stephanie Penson speaks about her father, Franklin Bonner, during a news conference at Newell Towers on June 12, 2018, in Chattanooga. Bonner was killed in 2009 after being tied and gagged in his home during a robbery.