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.
Hinds has pleaded not guilty to the crimes, and one of her attorneys, Ben McGowan, previously characterized the incident as an unavoidable tragedy, arguing that the 38-year-old Galinger wasn't visible on the night in question: The road sign over the manhole had lost its reflective cover, Galinger and his field training officer were dressed in blue and not wearing reflective vests, their cruiser lights weren't on, and it was dark and raining.
On Monday, McGowan initially asked for more time, arguing that county officials submitted Hinds' urine to another laboratory for testing. McGowan said the defense needed a chance to test the sample and gather more scientific evidence, since the county's testifying witness, McDonald, didn't understand the full breadth of the report. Executive Assistant District Attorney Cameron Williams disagreed, and Poole ruled the drug report was "reliable" enough on its face for the court to proceed.
For the state's proof, Williams called McDonald, recounted the timeline of Hinds missing her call-in, and entered the drug screen report into evidence. McGowan responded by pointing out that some of the language on the report said further "confirmatory" testing is needed before roping in the courts. He noted the report said Hinds had an alcohol metabolite in her system, which can be caused by eating certain foods, like soy sauce. And he further pointed out that prosecutors offered no testimony that Hinds' alcohol monitor had registered any violation before they tested her.
On the witness stand, Hinds denied drinking alcohol and said her family had removed any alcohol from her home.
But in his closings, prosecutor Williams reiterated that "it appears she's failed to report for [a] drug screen and tested positive for alcohol," in violation of the court's previous orders. He asked that her bond be significantly raised, which McGowan said would be punitive.
"What more do we do to somebody who is effectively locked up in their own house with a pile of conditions on them and a very high cash bond?" McGowan asked during closing arguments. "Maybe this is an exceptional offense, but there's not much more the court can do. A ball and chain is about all I can think of."
Judge Poole said he needed to balance upholding Hinds' constitutional rights to confront the evidence against her with the seriousness of the offense. He said the state's evidence concerned him but also questioned what more he could do.
"I don't want to take money from her; she's under substantial bond already. I don't know if there are any other restrictions that can be added to her, quite frankly. I'm not going to make a ruling this morning. I'm going to leave it as 'no bond,'" he said, and concluded that attorneys can make further arguments next week.
Contact Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.