Man indicted in 2000 East Ridge homicide now has private attorney

photo Jason Sanford
photo Sarah Perry

The 43-year-old man charged in the 2000 death of a woman whose body was found in a garbage can in East Ridge now has a private attorney.

Attorney Steven Moore will represent Jason Sanford, a Michigan man indicted for the first-degree murder of Sarah Perry. Moore declined to comment Friday, saying he needs to learn more about the case. The next hearing is scheduled for June 27.

Moore received the appointment after the Hamilton County Public Defender's Office announced earlier this week it needed to withdraw from the case because of a conflict of interest. While reviewing police reports and medical files, a defender realized his office had represented Perry's spouse before in criminal cases.

Perry, then 21, called police around 4 a.m. on June 14, 2000, saying she was concerned Sanford, her estranged boyfriend, might be inside her apartment, police said. She was last seen that day around 8:30 a.m.

The next day, two 12-year-old boys playing in Spring Creek off the 1600 block of Springvale Avenue in East Ridge came upon a garbage can. When one boy dared the other to open the lid, they found a partially nude Perry inside.

Although Sanford was a suspect from the beginning, authorities never made an arrest until August 2016. A grand jury returned an indictment for the murder that month after Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston presented the case.

Since authorities transported him from Michigan to Chattanooga, Sanford has sat in Hamilton County Jail on a $500,000 bond. Before withdrawing from the case, his public defender filed a motion to reduce that amount, arguing he wouldn't flee the area and would appear at all court hearings. The primary purpose of a bond is to ensure someone's appearance in court. And Sanford has "limited financial resources" to secure his release, the motion says.

On Thursday, Criminal Court Judge Tom Greenholtz said he wanted to put the motion on hold until Sanford's new lawyer was appointed. Pinkston said he is prepared to argue the issue "whenever suits the new counsel."

Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.

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