Kori Ellis
10-07-2005, 12:08 PM
Man held in plot to kill Ray Allen's stepfather
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- A psychologist was ordered held Thursday on $1.7 million bond on charges he conspired to murder a fellow psychologist, the stepfather of Sonics guard Ray Allen.
Ernest C. Garlington, 37, will probably not make bail, said his lawyer, William F. Dow III, after Garlington appeared in Middlesex Superior Court.
"It's an impossible bond for most people to make," he said.
Garlington and Terrence Battle, 31, of Waterbury, were charged Wednesday in a murder-for-hire plot against psychologist Derek Hopson.
Hopson was once married to Garlington's wife. He's now married to Flora Allen-Hopson, Allen's mother.
Allen, who practiced with the Sonics on Thursday, declined to comment through a team spokesman.
Garlington and Battle are accused of conspiring with a third man, Robbie Santos, 34, of Waterbury, to shoot Hopson in 2003. Santos is serving an 18-year prison term for firing a shot from a .25-caliber pistol at Hopson on May 21, 2003, outside a mental health clinic in Middletown where Hopson worked. Hopson was not injured and Santos ran off when his gun jammed, according to testimony at his trial.
Prosecutors alleged Santos was offered $8,000 to kill Hopson.
Garlington and Battle are also accused in another assault on Hopson, in the same parking lot, on Aug. 12, 2002. In that incident, Hopson was attacked with a golf club.
Arrest warrants detailing the allegations have been ordered sealed for two weeks.
Battle was charged with aiding in the commission of an attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and criminal attempt to commit murder.
He was being held in lieu of $950,000 bond.
Garlington and Battle appeared briefly in court Thursday. Battle was ordered to return next Wednesday after he hires a lawyer. Garlington's next court appearance is Oct. 17.
Garlington is director of psychological services at a nonprofit corporation that administers social service programs for low-income families.
He faces charges including conspiracy to commit first-degree assault and soliciting and/or requesting the commission of a murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Dow told Superior Court Judge Patricia Harleston the allegations against Garlington are "the word of three or four convicted felons. They don't make the strongest case in the world."
Assistant State's Attorney Russell Zentner told Harleston that bond should be high for Garlington because of the seriousness of the allegations.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- A psychologist was ordered held Thursday on $1.7 million bond on charges he conspired to murder a fellow psychologist, the stepfather of Sonics guard Ray Allen.
Ernest C. Garlington, 37, will probably not make bail, said his lawyer, William F. Dow III, after Garlington appeared in Middlesex Superior Court.
"It's an impossible bond for most people to make," he said.
Garlington and Terrence Battle, 31, of Waterbury, were charged Wednesday in a murder-for-hire plot against psychologist Derek Hopson.
Hopson was once married to Garlington's wife. He's now married to Flora Allen-Hopson, Allen's mother.
Allen, who practiced with the Sonics on Thursday, declined to comment through a team spokesman.
Garlington and Battle are accused of conspiring with a third man, Robbie Santos, 34, of Waterbury, to shoot Hopson in 2003. Santos is serving an 18-year prison term for firing a shot from a .25-caliber pistol at Hopson on May 21, 2003, outside a mental health clinic in Middletown where Hopson worked. Hopson was not injured and Santos ran off when his gun jammed, according to testimony at his trial.
Prosecutors alleged Santos was offered $8,000 to kill Hopson.
Garlington and Battle are also accused in another assault on Hopson, in the same parking lot, on Aug. 12, 2002. In that incident, Hopson was attacked with a golf club.
Arrest warrants detailing the allegations have been ordered sealed for two weeks.
Battle was charged with aiding in the commission of an attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and criminal attempt to commit murder.
He was being held in lieu of $950,000 bond.
Garlington and Battle appeared briefly in court Thursday. Battle was ordered to return next Wednesday after he hires a lawyer. Garlington's next court appearance is Oct. 17.
Garlington is director of psychological services at a nonprofit corporation that administers social service programs for low-income families.
He faces charges including conspiracy to commit first-degree assault and soliciting and/or requesting the commission of a murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Dow told Superior Court Judge Patricia Harleston the allegations against Garlington are "the word of three or four convicted felons. They don't make the strongest case in the world."
Assistant State's Attorney Russell Zentner told Harleston that bond should be high for Garlington because of the seriousness of the allegations.