Bond Lowered For One Suspect

The bond for one of the suspects charged in the 2015 Crystal Rogers case has been lowered.

Joseph Lawson, 34, was indicted on June 21, 2023, for complicity in tampering with physical evidence. On July 24, 2023, the Nelson County Grand Jury returned the indictment where he was charged with conspiracy to commit murder. His bond was fixed at $500,000.

On February 8, all three suspects appeared in court together and a hearing was held to discuss the motion filed by attorneys to lower Lawson’s bond to $50,000.

According to court documents, the defense contends that Lawson, a paraplegic, is not capable of fleeing. Attorneys requested Lawson be placed on home incarceration while attending an inpatient treatment facility.

In response to the motion, the court said they believe a bond of $250,000 is reasonable to assure his appearance.

“In making this determination, this Court has considered the gravity of the conspiracy to commit murder charge while recognizing that Lawson’s pretrial assessment indicated that he is a moderate flight risk and a moderate risk to re-offend,” documents read.

If convicted of both charges, Lawson faces up to 25 years in prison. If Lawson is convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, he would have to serve 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

The court says they have considered Lawson’s criminal history, which includes two convicted felonies. He is currently serving a one-year sentence at the Kentucky State Reformatory for a criminal mischief charge. He was also previously convicted of possessing meth.

“As grounds, the defense failed to provide any information about Lawson’s ability to post same, and the Commonwealth never made any argument about Lawson having access to large financial resources to assist him with an attempted flight,” documents read.

The court ordered that Lawson have a dusk to dawn curfew, except for employment and medical emergencies, have no violations of the law, must remain drug and alcohol-free, have no contact with Roger’s family, no contact with co-defendants, no travel outside the state, and must be monitored by pretrial services.
Source: WAVE