Judge pulls murder suspect’s bond

Published 11:23 pm Tuesday, June 19, 2012

By Fred Guarino

The Selma Times-Journal

— Lowndes County District Court Judge Adrian D. Johnson revoked the $10,000 robbery third degree bond of 22-year-old triple-murder suspect Deandra Marquis Lee of Montgomery Tuesday.

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He also set a Monday, July 2 preliminary hearing for Lee at 1:30 p.m. in Hayneville, which is before the grand jury meets July 16.

Lee is being held in the Lowndes County Jail on a $3 million cash bond for the murder of three people in Lowndes County including 9-year-old twins Jordan and Taylor Dejerinett and their 73-year-old caretaker Jack Mac Girdner.

Lee had been out of jail on a $10,000 bond in Lowndes County on a third degree charge when he was captured after a four-day manhunt earlier this month. Another court appearance for Lee in Dallas County, scheduled for last Thursday, was continued.

Tesmer argued a “mandatory condition” of Lee’s bond on the robbery third charge was that he “not commit any more offenses.”

Thornton argued there were not sufficient facts to justify the issuance of the murder warrants against Lee.

“Well, obviously the circuit clerk deemed that there was probably cause to issue three murder warrants,” Tesmer said.

Johnson said anyone in Lee’s position should be aware if they were out on bond they could not pick up any charges and would be subject to revocation of the bond.

“As such, I am going to grant the state’s motion to revoke his bond,” Johnson said.

“The judge is wanting us to have a preliminary hearing before the next grand jury,” Tesmer said.

“It’s my policy to have a complete file, barring some unforeseen incidence, before we go to grand jury,” Tesmer said.

Tesmer said once a judge revokes a bond and does not set another one, it doesn’t matter what kind of bond a person could make. Lee will remain in jail without bond following Tuesday’s revocation hearing.