A Chattanooga woman who missed a court appearance and then submitted proof of testing positive for COVID-19 as an excuse was sent to jail by a General Sessions Court judge who said he thought her test result was fake.
Jessica Lucious, 24, is facing one count of vandalism or malicious mischief after an incident last year in which she allegedly got upset at a potential employer and vandalized a spa when she wasn't hired.
She missed court on May 1 and then appeared before General Sessions Court Judge Larry Ables on May 4.
"Judge Ables asked for the proof of Ms. Lucious' COVID test and took a recess," a petition for review of the case by her defense attorney said.
"When Judge Ables came back into session, he said he contacted the office on the proof of COVID test and had been informed that the office had not seen Ms. Lucious," the review petition said. "Judge Ables Concluded that Ms. Lucious' COVID test was fake."
At the time of her arrest, Lucious was given a $1,500 bond, according to a sworn affidavit from the Chattanooga Police Department.
At the May 4 hearing, Ables imposed a $20,000 cash bond on Lucious, meaning she was obligated to pay in full, via cash or check, the bond amount. Lucious was then taken into custody.
Day spa
In June 2022, Lucious was being considered for a marketing position at A Better You Day Spa, when she was called in by a manager, according to the affidavit.
When the manager told Lucious she was not going to get hired, she allegedly became angry and began vandalizing the spa, after demanding the business pay her for the work she had already done, according to the affidavit.
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Review request
After the May 4 hearing, her attorneys filed the review request in Hamilton County Criminal Court, which has the authority to review actions of the General Sessions Court. The May 12 petition asked the Criminal Court to "find the order of General Sessions Court to be unreasonable," while asking that Lucious' case be assigned to another judge.
In an order the same day partially granting the review request, Judge Barry Steelman said Tennessee laws "do not authorize a General Sessions judge to specify the form of bail," meaning that Ables imposing a cash bond on Lucious was not legal.
"The court therefore finds that the limitation on the form of the petitioner's bond is illegal and should be vacated," Steelman's order said.
Steelman did not change the bond amount or grant the petition to reassign the case to another judge.
Using a bail bond company, Lucious has since been able to make the $20,000 bond imposed at the May hearing. She is due to appear before Ables on July 17.
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Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.