A man awaiting trial
Ex-millionaire’s request to leave state while awaiting trial denied
in his wife’s slaying can’t attend their daughter’s wedding, an Orange County judge rules.
Sarah Ward leaned forward on a courtroom bench, elbows on her knees, her hands holding a folded piece of paper.
Her diamond engagement ring glistened.
Her father, James “Bob” Ward, sat rows ahead of her. He faced the judge who would ultimately decide whether he could walk his youngest daughter down the aisle at her wedding next week in Georgia.
Circuit Judge Leticia Marques acknowledged Ward’s compliance with conditions of his bond that allow him to be out of jail but prohibit him from leaving Orange County.
Marques even sympathized with the family.
But she didn’t grant Ward permission to go to the ceremony.
“I wish he could go to his daughter’s wedding, but I’m going to deny the motion,” Marques said.
Sarah Ward let out a sigh and slid back in her seat. Her face turned red as she fought tears in the courtroom.
She will already be missing her mother on her wedding day, defense lawyer Craig Gillen pointed out. She was shot to death in 2009; Bob Ward was convicted of second-degree murder in her death in 2011 and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Ward got a second chance when an appeals court overturned his conviction last year, citing his trial lawyers’ failure to object to certain evidence. Ward, a former millionaire, was released from jail on $1 million bond in August pending a second trial.
What is contested is whether Ward shot his wife or if Diane Ward shot herself during a struggle over the gun.
Bob Ward’s sister-in-law comforted a crying Sarah Ward in the courthouse hallway while Bob Ward stood with his hands in his pockets, staring ahead.
Marques said her concern in giving permission was that Ward, 69, couldn’t be monitored with an electronic tracking device. Marques noted Ward has been compliant with bond conditions since his arrest. A bondsman wrote a letter in support of allowing Ward to go to the wedding.
But before the first trial, Ward was ordered to wear a GPS. Orange County has since banned the use of GPS for suspects out of jail on bond after a defendant with GPS killed a witness in a home invasion trial.
“There was a way of monitoring him, and I just don’t have that once he leaves the state of
Florida,” Marques said.
Judges still have the option to order GPS monitoring through private companies but have done so sparingly. Gillen hinted they’re trying to work out a way to have Ward wear a GPS.
“We’ve taken into consideration what the court has said in terms of finding new conditions up in Georgia to satisfy the bond conditions, and we’re taking steps to get that done,” Gillen told reporters after the hearing.
After the hearing, Sarah Ward leaned on her father as they waited for an elevator to take them down from the ninth floor.
Bob Ward kissed his daughter’s forehead just before the elevator dinged.