Eddie Ladell Cunningham appeared before Judge Anita Harold Ashley in the Circuit Court of Calhoun on Tuesday, March 8th. Facing the charge of ”Conspiracy to Commit a Felony”, his attorney, William B. Summers, argued on his behalf for release and a less than $50,000.00 bond, if not a Personal Recognizance Bond (PR) to which Prosecuting Attorney Nigel Jeffries differed in opinion.
Jeffries requested that Judge Ashley set bond at $70,000 cash or surety due to the defendants prior activity. Mr. Cunningham, prior to this arrest, was serving home confinement in Wood County for the convicted charge of ”DUI Causing Death.”
Attorney Summers stated that the defendant needed to be released to care for his four year old who had lost his mother and Cunningham was his caretaker.
Judge Ashley however did not agree. Following the defendants ”Not Guilty” plea he was remanded back to the North Central Regional Jail to be held on $70,000 bond. Judge Ashley stated that due to the seriousness of this offense and his priors, he was “Certainly not a case for a PR Bond. His case was set for pretrial on April 6 at 10:30 a.m. and Trial on April 19th at 9 a.m.
