Murder suspect keeps bond following hearing

An Enterprise man suspected of murder will keep his bond after a bond revocation hearing held before District Judge Chris Kaminski on Monday, Dec. 11.

Joshua Mark Richard, 35, is the suspect in the murder of Joey Chandler, who was found deceased in a car at the Coffee County Stockyard in New Brockton on Dec. 22, 2015.

When he was first arrested and charged with homicide, Joshua Richard was held in the Coffee County Jail on a $150,000 bond.

Assistant District Attorney Josh Wilson told the court the state withdrew bond revocation charges during an Aug. 8, 2016, bond revocation hearing before Circuit Judge Shannon Clark.

According to intake reports, Joshua Richard was brought back to the Coffee County Jail on Friday, Dec. 1. Joshua Richard was charged with third-degree criminal mischief.

The first witness during the hearing was Joshua Richard's mother, Danette Chestnut.

Chestnut testified that she woke up one morning and heard what she said sounded like gunshots. She said she realized it was her windshield being busted, though she could not see her windshield from the window of her home.

She said she could see a white Lexus parked behind her car, which she said was that of her other son, Jeremy Richard. Chestnut said Jeremy Richard suffers from PTSD.

She said after she heard the gunshot-like noise, someone began to bang on her front door.

After a few moments of someone banging on her door and breaking her windshield, Chestnut said she looked back out of her window and saw an individual, who she said was one of her sons, running around the white Lexus in her yard. She said she did not see the face of the individual, only the back of the head. She said she knew the person as her son.

Chestnut said she saw the white Lexus drive away, and she said she believed Joshua Richard was the driver of the vehicle. She said she called her mother, then her husband and the police after the incident occurred.

Chestnut said Jeremy Richard helped Joshua Richard bond out of jail and lived with him. She said after he helped Joshua Richard out of jail, he never spoke to the family.

She said she received a message from Jeremy Richard after the incident where he admitted to busting her windshield.

Chestnut said she received a call from Joshua Richard while he was being held at the Coffee County Jail. During the call, she said he told her that he did not take part in the incident.

Chestnut told the court she also found a letter in her grandson's room that she believed was from Joshua Richard to Jeremy Richard.

She described the letter as "threatening."

The end of the letter, which Chestnut read to the court, included the phrase "will be 10 times more powerful than busting a windshield." She said the letter was signed by Mark, Joshua Richard's middle name.

Don Bush, Jeremy and Joshua Richard's stepfather, was then called to testify. He testified that he received a call from Joshua Richard while police were at his house following the incident.

Bush said Joshua Richard told him he needed to explain what happened. He said Joshua Richard told him that he was at Walmart and he found Jeremy Richard at their home.

Bush said he mentioned $3,000 for a bond amount that was paid, and he said Joshua Richard became upset about the amount being the cost for a windshield.

Jeremy Richard was the final witness in the hearing.

He testified that he broke Chestnut's windshield, and he said he told no one, including Joshua Richard, that he planned to break his mother's windshield.

He testified that he broke his mother's windshield by himself, and he said he tried to open the sliding glass door to her home, but it was locked.

Jeremy Richard said he drove a white Lexus and left before police arrived. He also said he had no knowledge of a letter that referenced a broken windshield.

Kaminski reinstated Joshua Richard's previous bond requirements following testimony.