Amish Retreat Leader Sam Shetler Denied Bond Again — Judge Cites “Danger To Witnesses”
Amish retreat leader Sam Shetler has again been denied bond — with the judge finding that the danger to witnesses and alleged victims cannot be addressed by any conditions of release.
This is the latest development in a case we’ve been following since Shetler’s arrest in late March. If you’re new to the story, Shetler was indicted in May on 10 counts, including charges of trafficking, kidnapping, sexual abuse and involuntary manslaughter in relation to his actions operating the Mercy & Truth Retreat, a center for Amish and Mennonite individuals in Cooper County, Missouri.
He pleaded not guilty. Most recently, this summer prosecutors agreed to the defense’s request to move the case out of Cooper County.
Bond Denied Again – A Closer Look Shows Why
Shetler, now 43, remains in the Cooper County Jail. ABC 17 reports that Shetler was denied bond again on September 9th, and that a case review was scheduled for three months from now, on December 16.
Why was Shetler denied bond again? The latest report doesn’t tell us, but I looked at the court docket at the Missouri Courts website, which does.
From the September 9 docket entry, by Judge Richard L. Scheibe, who now handles the case in Montgomery County:
Arraignment Held
Bond Reduction argued and denied. Court finds that the danger to witnesses and allege [sic] victims cannot be adequately addressed by any cash or non-cash conditions of bond
So for whatever reason, the court judges the potential danger to witnesses and alleged victims to be too great to allow Shetler to be released on bond.
Case Moves To Montgomery County
At the time of the last update (August 3), the move wasn’t official yet. That came on August 7, when Judge Josh Taylor signed off on it in Cooper County, according to the docket entry dated the same day.
Cooper County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Phelps continues to handle the case, just in a new location. The change of venue was requested by Shetler’s defense team in May and granted in August.
No Trial Date Yet
The August 13 hearing where a trial date was supposed to be set never happened. It was called off when the case moved to Montgomery County.
There’s still no trial date. The next court date is December 16 in Montgomery City. It appears that Shetler’s lawyer has also started scheduling depositions.
Both sides said earlier this summer that they expect the trial to last about two weeks.
Read More:
- Why Sam Shetler’s Trial Is Moving To A New County
- The 10 Charges Against Sam Shetler & Why Could He (Possibly) Face Life in Prison?
- Who is Sam Shetler and What did he allegedly do?
- More on the Manslaughter & Kidnapping Charges
