Hearing set Monday on bond releasefor former St. John Sheriff’s lieutenant
Published 12:00 am Friday, February 22, 2008
By ROBIN SHANNON
Staff Reporter
EDGARD – State prosecutors handling the case against former St. John Sheriff’s Deputy Allan Wayne Schaeffer have challenged his release from jail saying that the woman who posted bond did not provide adequate proof she is worth the full $335,000.
Assistant Attorney General Ali Shields filed a motion Wednesday in state District Court in Edgard that said Schaeffer must provide adequate documentation that the person who signed the surety bond is worth $335,000 or that this person owns property in the state as required by law. If Schaeffer fails to provide proof, the motion says he should be ordered back to prison.
Schaeffer was released Tuesday from the Sherman Walker Correctional Facility in LaPlace after being in jail since his January 14 indictment.
Shields said if Schaeffer is allowed to remain out on bail, he should be required to wear an electronic monitoring device, since he has family connections outside the state and is a possible flight risk.
The motion said that Schaeffer, who was arrested in January on charges of aggravated rape, second-degree battery, and attempted sexual battery, posted 10 percent of his bond Tuesday and that a woman named Karyn N. Schaeffer signed an affidavit saying she was worth the full amount of the bond. The motion said she did not show any act of mortgage or security interest in immovable property within the state, which is a requirement for the bond release of individuals charged with a sex offense.
Parish records show that Allan Schaeffer lived at the LaPlace address that Karyn Schaeffer listed on the bond.
Schaeffer was a former lieutenant in the SJSO with 16 years experience before being fired in October after a State Police investigation into complaints against the 47-year-old deputy filed by a former girlfriend. The findings of the investigation were given to St. John District Attorney John Crum, who recused his office from the case because of close ties to the Sheriff’s Office. The case was then turned over to the State Attorney General’s office.
A hearing on the motion has been set for Monday at 9 a.m. at the Edgard Courthouse. Judge Mary Hotard Becnel will be hearing the case.