By Barry Porterfield
A $1 million bond amount was set for a Paoli man charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his infant son.
Garvin County Special District Judge Trisha Misak set the $1 million bond for Johnny Ray Speerbrecher, 28, in spite of the prosecutor’s objections to any cash bond. Garvin County Assistant District Attorney George Burnett argued no bond be allowed in the case because of Speerbrecher’s previous criminal record and the allegation that the 2-month-old baby died while in the sole care of Speerbrecher.
Judge Misak also placed conditions on the bond. Those include that Speerbrecher must be electronically monitored if he’s ever able to post the big bond and get out of the Garvin County jail.
He must also have a “responsible” person named to supervise him. That person must provide Speerbrecher a residence where he could be monitored electronically. The judge also ordered that Speerbrecher not use any alcohol or drugs except drugs prescribed for his bipolar disorder. He could be subjected to random drug testing.
Misak cited the fact Speerbrecher has attended all court appearances related to a juvenile case involving his other children and he did not leave the area during the nine-month period between his baby’s death and this week’s filing of the criminal charges against him.
Speerbrecher has been charged with three crimes.
The murder charge accuses him of causing the blunt force head trauma that authorities say resulted in the death of 2-month-old Brody Speerbrecher on March 9 at their Paoli home.
The other two charges center on illegal drug activity, with the most serious related to the discovery of several grams of marijuana found in his residence on March 9. He was charged with felony possession of controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute within 2,000 feet of Paoli’s school complex.
The second drug charge is a misdemeanor of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
