Brogdon

Chad Brogdon

Dale County 33rd District Judge William Filmore denied the bond request from Chad Brogdon, who is charged with the 2019 murder of his mother Penny Newton.

Brogdon, 36, had reportedly been living with his mother in Level Plains when he is accused of murdering her on Mother’s Day in 2019.

On May 14, fishermen spotted a burning vehicle underneath the Choctawhatchee Bridge on Highway 167 outside of Hartford. There authorities discovered the body of Newton, which had been burned.

Originally, Brogdon was denied bond and subsequently found competent to stand trial.

A bond hearing was set for Aug. 6 but before that hearing could begin the judge first denied Brogdan’s attorney – Jason Eubanks – motion to withdraw from representing Brogdan.

According to Eubanks, Brogdan filed a complaint with the bar association for inadequate representation. Brogdon argued that Eubanks wasn’t making “every effort” to do the things needed to “fully represent” him in the case, which led to the complaint.

Eubanks said that this causes a conflict for him leading to his motion to withdraw from representing Brogdan. Filmore denied the withdrawal.

In regards to bond, Eubanks argued that Brogdan is legally entitled to bond because this case is a “non-capital offense.” He also stated that Brogdan had “no prior record to speak of.”

Dale County Assistant District Attorney David Emery pointed out that Brogdan does in fact have a prior record – a 2010 felony conviction in connection to falsifying a $1,400 check and a 2002 conviction for eluding police – and also cited the violent nature of the alleged crime and alleged prior threats from Brogdan as reason for no bond.

Newton’s sister Becky Wyatt testified to the court that Brogdan had threatened her in the past.

Wyatt – who allowed Brogdan to live with her in Panama City, Fla., for a short time – alleged that he had previously threatened to kill her.

“One time, two or three years ago, he said he was going to kill me and then one time when I was leaving their house he also told me he wished I would wreck my car and kill myself,” Wyatt said at the hearing.

Filmore considered the arguments but ultimately denied the defendant’s request for bond, citing that “the defendant’s release would pose a real and present danger to others or to the public at large.”

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