Judge reinstates PR bond with GPS for defendant who missed court date, extends plea deadline

A judge reinstated a $7,500 personal‑recognizance bond for Rodney Brown, who missed a court date, and ordered partial GPS monitoring limited to employment, waived court fees and extended the plea deadline to allow defense and state to continue discovery.

Brown told the court he “woke up late and I contacted my lawyer and he told me that I had until 4,” and said stressors and medication changes affected his reliability. “I panicked,” Brown said, explaining why he failed to appear.

Defense counsel and the prosecutor confirmed the prior bond had been $7,500 and that Brown had been out of custody for roughly two and a half years without prior violations before the recent failure to appear. The judge said the new options under revised bond rules left two choices: set a $3,500 bond or reinstate the previous $7,500 PR bond with GPS conditions. The judge ordered the PR bond of $7,500, waived court fees and imposed GPS monitoring limited to employment travel; defense accepted that option.

The court advised defense counsel to verify Brown’s residence for GPS enrollment and asked the defense to notify the court by Friday if any logistical issue arose. The judge also extended the plea deadline to the third or fourth week of September to allow the defense to confer with the client if he is released and to allow further investigation of discovery matters.

Defense counsel told the court that a magistrate‑office recording sought early in the case may have been purged; the state indicated its initial inquiry showed the recording had been purged. The court directed the prosecution to confirm whether any video or camera footage relevant to the magistrate’s handling of the arrest exists and to report back; defense requested verification for potential trial issues.

Brown, who said he currently has no bank funds or assets and is unemployed but has a pending employment opportunity that requires presentation of identification, will be subject to the GPS condition, and defense counsel agreed to monitor the logistics and report to the court if problems arise. The court set a status/reset date and instructed Brown to appear at the next scheduled setting.

No final disposition was made; the ruling reinstated bond and scheduled follow‑up while preserving the state’s discovery obligations and the defense’s opportunity to evaluate plea options.