Janet Hinds will remain in jail without bond – at least for now – after allegations she violated her release conditions.
After a hearing Monday in Hamilton County Criminal Court, Judge Don Poole said he will wait before deciding to change any of the 55-year-old woman’s bond conditions in her vehicular homicide case. Though he did say the former Soddy-Daisy postmaster is entitled to a bond, Hinds will remain in Silverdale Detention Center without bail until her next appearance on July 11.
Hinds faces 10 charges in the death of Chattanooga police officer Nicholas Galinger. Prosecutors say she’d been drinking and was speeding when she struck Galinger as he inspected an overflowing manhole cover on Hamill Road on Feb. 23.
The issue of bond emerged after Hamilton County probation officials said Friday that Hinds violated her release conditions by testing positive for alcohol. According to court documents and testimony, Hinds did not call in to probation personnel on June 20. When contacted the next day, Hinds agreed to a random drug screening that came back positive for alcohol on Friday, probation officer Shannon McDonald wrote in a report. Based on that information, Judge Poole agreed to revoke Hinds’ release and give her “no bond.”
Since early March, Hinds has been on house arrest and under constant supervision via two separate alcohol- and location-monitoring devices. She cannot drive, drink alcohol, walk to her mailbox or accomplish tasks outside her home without help from family or friends. Her release from Silverdale Correctional Facility came after General Sessions Court Judge Alex McVeagh reduced the bond amount on March 5 on her vehicular homicide charge from $250,000 to $100,000. Still, after a lengthy preliminary hearing on the matter, McVeagh found probable cause that Hinds committed the crimes and sent her offenses to a grand jury, which added an additional driving under the influence charge in April. Overall, her cash bond is around $150,000.