Huntsville gymnastics teacher shot
A gymnastics teacher at Huntsville Gymnastics Center was shot in the face during an apparent robbery while leaving work Tuesday evening. I ordinarily don’t post crime stories – I don’t have that much time on my hands. But this one caught my attention for two reasons. One, my oldest daughter has taken a gymnastics class taught by the victim, Meg Hall. Second, one of the two alleged criminals was free on bond from a 2008 attempted murder.
Police arrested 28-year-old Tavares Fletcher, a man they say is already facing attempted murder charges for an August 2008 shooting.
According to court records, on Sept. 8, 2008. Fletcher pointed a 9 mm pistol at a Huntsville man and tried to shoot him but the gun didn’t fire immediately. It went off a moment later.
Fletcher was out of jail on a $30,000 bond at the time of Tuesday’s robbery. The 2008 attempted murder case has been forwarded to a grand jury.
I’m not plugged into the criminal legal community so I don’t understand how a piece of crap like Fletcher is allowed to walk the streets and continue to threaten society after being charged with attempted murder. If it weren’t for a fluke mechanical error with his gun he would already be a murderer. How in the world do you let a guy like that out for a paltry $30,000 bond? Again, this may be standard operating procedure, but it seems insane to me. I wonder what our crime rate would look like if we didn’t let violent attempted murderers continue to wander the streets.
This is where I think our legal system really breaks down. Assuming Fletcher is ultimately convicted of both crimes, I personally believe the death penalty is warranted. The guy has (allegedly) shot, or shot at, two people in the span of a few months. One victim was shot in the face. He is a gnats breath away from being a double murderer. I say he should be punished as though he were “successful.” Why should he get any diminished sentence relative to what an actual double murderer would receive just because he is incompetent at his chosen craft?
A second man, 29-year-old Fideliss Fletcher, was also arrested and charged with robbery. The police spokesman didn’t know if the two men are related. I’m going to throw out a wild guess that they are brothers.
According to the Times article Hall is in serious condition, but “doing really well.”
I was at dinner with some guys last night, and one of them asked, “How do you tell your 4-year-old daughter that her gymnastics teacher was shot in the face?” A $30,000 bond is ridiculous, and the judge that issued it should be removed from office.
There is no way to keep all the bad people locked up with the current system and capacity. At least, if out on bond for a violent crime, they should have a monitor/ankle transponder. And those devices should make a distinctive sound when the thug is out of their allowable zone.
Personally, I’d rather let non-violent criminals (drug offenders, etc.) loose en masse to make room for the ones who have proven they are threats to people’s lives.
Rick, I don’t know the exact laws in Alabama, but I do know that in other states, bail amounts are based on the charge filed and are set by state law. One of my clients runs a bail bond company in Southern California, and I’ve written articles about how the bail bond system works in CA for her Web site.
It does seem like a $30k bond on attempted murder is low. The defendant only has to come up with $3k for the bail bondsman – if he can find someone to write the bond. Many bond companies avoid criminal defendants because of the extra risk involved. For instance, someone’s more likely to flee the jurisdiction on a murder charge than a DUI.
We still lack reliable means of tagging and bagging the truly evil despite many years wrestling with the problem which is the heart of the problem
Setting bail is required for all criminal offences in Alabama, except Capital Murder charges.
Rule 7.2 of the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure sets the bail schedual.
Attepmted Murder is a Class “B” felony.
Under Rule 7.2 the bond range available to the Judge is between $10,000 & $30,000.
The Judge in this case set the bond at the highest available amount.
edit: The range is actually $5,000 – $30,000
YBFAL – Thanks for the info. Good to know the judge did all that he/she could by law. It is a shame that the law allows someone like Fletcher to interact w/ society, but it looks like that is an argument for the legislature, not the judge or DA’s ofice.
So, I presume that the most stringent crime he can be charged with in this case is attempted murder. Does that mean that the judge can only set his new bond at $30k? Is there a chance that Fletcher is going to be walking the streets again while awaiting two trials for
capitalattempted murder?Surely there’s some allowance in the law for the judge to order the guy held without bail if he commits another crime while he’s out on bail for another violent crime.
In light of the facts, I retract my statement about the judge in my previous comment. The AL legislature, however, needs to act to change the laws regarding setting bail. $30K for attempted murder is ridiculous.
Committing a new crime while out on bail for the 1st, is a violation of the 1st bond.
It can be (will be) revoked, and the defendant held without bond on the 1st case.
irt:Rick
Rule 7.2 was in fact just amended 9/1/07 to raise the amounts to the level I described.
Attempted murder is a class A felony. See Alabama Code 13A-4-2(d)(1). Attempt crimes usually knock the crime down one level but attempted murder is an exception. The current bail schedule is $10,000 to $60,000 for a Class A felony.
A judge can set bail outside the range too.
The magistrate usually sets the bond initially too, not a judge.
Just spoke with someone who was in jail with “T-Love” (Tavares Fletcher) about 10 years ago. He said Tavares was a “hostile” person who got into a lot of fights in jail.
Thanks for contributing, My Liberal Best Friend (note to all – he knows criminal law).
I would be shocked if his first bond was not revoked now. Alabama appellate courts seem pretty consistent about upholding revoked bail when someone is arrested for a second charge.
Ms. Meg has taught our daughter gymnastics. Meg is a wonderful person. She has been extremely influential as a positive role-model for our little girl. Senseless crimes like this should wake up the general public about the moral condition of our country. Criminals like this gunman, deserve the harshes of penalties our law allows. As a community it is time to draw a line in the sand and take back our streets. Get well soon Meg, I am praying for you and your family. I will keep them feed while you recover.
Meg Hall is my boyfriend’s mother.
Tavares (or Boo Boo, as the investigator called him) also shot a cop sometime back and managed to get off. Fideless (Fats) is his second cousin.
“Boo Boo” sounds like a fantastic member of society. I hope he gets what he deserves.
Thanks for the info Cassidy. Best wishes to Meg for a speedy recovery. I can’t imagine what your boyfriend and his family must be going through.
Attempted Murder and Murder are both Class A felonies (10-Life unless the voluntary sentencin guidelines are used). Because the crime was committed with a firearm the min sentence goes up to 20 years. The bond range is a suggestion and are not mandatory and Judges can and do frequently set bonds greater than the suggested range.
Thanks for all the support for Meg – she is a gem! She is recovering well and should be out of hospital soon.
I have read the comments on the bail with interest. While it seems the judge might have been able to do more, I have also heard that the D.A.’s office made no objection to the 30k requested by Fletcher’s attorney. I must stress that I just heard this through the mainstream media, so there may be no truth to it whatsoever, but it bears looking into.
First – Ditto what Brian said about releasing non-violent drug offenders and using that space for violent trash like the two guys in this story. Prison was made for attempted murderers and murderers. I disagree with the death penalty here though….because I think prison is a much worse punishment than death. Death is too quick and too easy.
Second, like Old Prosecutor said, judges can set whatever bond they like. When working on the Rochester case I noted that the judge in that case set some bonds much higher than the bond schedule allows (for everyone that wasn’t Rochester’s son) for the crime a defendant is charged with. You’ll note in <a href=”http://nallforgovernor.blogspot.com/2008/06/some-drug-traffickers-are-more-equal.html”> this post</a> (it’s a long one) that the judge set one bond for a Class B felony at $70,000 over what the bond schedule called for. Seems to me like they have the ability to set bonds as high as they want or at least the ability to increase the bond amount above what the bond schedule calls for.
If I lived in the area where the Judge and DA let this guy out on a $30,000 bond for his second attempted murder I’d be raising unholy hell and plotting their destruction in the next election cycle.
I’ll keep Mrs. Hall in my thoughts for a speedy recovery.
I am Meg’s sister. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. We consider our family very lucky to still have her. There was a bond hearing Friday, and the 30K bond was revoked and Tavares will sit in jail until the trial.
Tell your family that you love them everyday. You never know what may happen.
BJ, glad to hear that “Boo Boo” is where he belongs.
Your advice is invaluable. We all get too busy, stressed, etc. at times to remind our loved ones how much they mean to us. It shouldn’t take a tragedy to make us reprioritize and put family first.
I think what the real issue is, is that the police are on record for asking people NOT to talk about the shooting. If you noticed, this story has been strikingly buried here in huntsville, barely covered in the media. I think we can see here that there are the many reasons this story is being covered-up………and i don’t think it is because we don’t want our children to know about it.
In case you guys didn’t kow, the guy doesn’t have bond anymore. My mother, Meg Hall, went to the bail hearing and no bail was issued. Now Taveras Fletcher is being accused of capitol murder back in August. This man is not getting out and I am fine with that.
Bill Starnes and Melissa Heron are handling Fletcher’s prosecution. IIRC they have never lost a case working together.
Erin – thoughts and prayers with your family. Please keep us informed.
There are several versions of my mothers incident, but I will do my best to tell you what I can. Ms. Meg was leaving work around 8:30 p.m. on a Tuesday night in January when she heard footsteps coming from behind her (those of you that have been to HGC know that the coaches park far from the building. Tavares evidently came from the ditch). She turned around to see a man atleast a foot taller than her standing against the dim light of the parking lot. Ms. Meg started screaming and hitting the man with her purse. She also had her car keys in between her fingers because she felt like someone was telling her to be careful that night. At that moment the man did three things: put the gun against her face, said “Shut up!” and pulled the trigger. When my mother started screaming, my brother, who also works there, grabbed the phone and started dialing 911. When the shot went off, he and the owner of the gym ran out to the parking lot. There was my mother, lying on the pavement. My brother didn’t even know it was her until he started asking her questions. The police and medical response team were there in a matter of minutes if not seconds. The men were caught in about ten to fifteen minutes by the K-9 unit. What make’s me curious is that there was a car parked next to my brothers that was registered to a “Miller.” It is believed that the two men borrowed or stole the car. However, that’s not the curious part to me. After Tavares shot my mother, he took off down Leeman Ferry. Fidelis tore off after him. If the car was being used by them, then these guys are more stupid than I thought. First they shot a complete stranger, then, instead of getting in the get-away car, they started running.