Baby death mom's case bond hearing held

Dec. 16—An attorney was unsuccessful Friday in trying to get the bond reduced for an Odessa woman facing a potential life sentence in the July death of her baby from $200,000 to $10,000.

Defense attorney Matt Powell told Judge Denn Whalen of the 70th Ector County District Court that $10,000 would be enough to ensure Leyla Pierson, 18, would not flee and would make all of her court appearances. He also said his client would be willing to wear a GPS monitor if released from the Ector County jail.

Pierson and Kameron Gammage were arrested in July after dispatchers received a 911 call from the Brady Apartments on East 52nd Street about an unresponsive baby and found their 7-month-old son, Logan, dead, his head covered in bruises. An autopsy revealed the child had also been strangled.

Gammage, 23, pleaded guilty to murder and injury to a child before he was even arraigned on the charges and was sentenced to life in prison, plus 20 years.

Pierson was originally arrested on the state felony charge of injury to a child, but the grand jury later indicted her on two counts of injury to a child, but increased them to a first-degree felony charge, which is punishable by five years to life in prison.

During Friday's hearing, Pierson's mother, Kristen Poulson, and former stepfather, Ray Durham, were called to the stand by Powell. As her tearful daughter watched, a rosary around her neck, Poulson testified she was misled about Gammage's age when he began dating her daughter when she was 15, but was not allowed to answer questions as to whether Gammage was violent toward her daughter or if she'd ever seen injuries on her daughter because the judge ruled the answers "irrelevant."

Under cross-examination from Assistant Ector County District Attorney Elizabeth Howard, Poulson acknowledged Pierson lived with Gammage of her own free will despite the fact she was welcome at her mother's house.

Durham, a Fort Stockton rancher, testified he raised Pierson from the time she was 1 until she was 14 and she is welcome to live with him and work for him. He said he could afford to pay a $10,000 bond per count.

"Whatever he says goes," Durham said when asked if he'd be willing to make sure Pierson abided by any conditions the judge might impose.

Under cross-examination, Durham said he hadn't been in contact with Pierson for a few years after his divorce from her mother. He said he reached out to offer his help after seeing her mugshot on the news, "As any daddy would do, I would hope."

Powell also put Odessa Police Homicide Sgt. Justin Caid on the stand. The attorney asked the supervisor of the homicide division if Pierson told him Gammage had threatened her so she wouldn't speak with the police about the baby's death. The detective acknowledged Pierson told him about some verbal threats made to her by Gammage, but said he could not recall the specifics.

Caid told Powell he has not seen any pictures from prior to Logan's birth showing a pregnant Pierson with bruises and strangulation marks. He acknowledged, however, he hasn't seen the results of a cell phone "dump" performed by other OPD personnel.

Caid further acknowledged the severity of Pierson's charges increased after the autopsy, despite the fact the autopsy did not provide any evidence she inflicted the child's wounds and despite the fact Gammage accepted full responsibility for those wounds.

Under cross-examination from Howard, Caid testified Pierson was not crying or distraught the day the baby died and she told him she and Gammage had tried to hide drug paraphernalia after calling 911. He also testified there were dirty diapers shoved under his play pen and the dirty and unkept house smelled of urine and feces.

Howard then called Detective Donny Rocha to the stand. Rocha testified he found a bong, used for smoking marijuana, in a closet in the apartment.

Whalen denied Powell's motion, saying he found the bond reasonable when he set it and he still thinks it's reasonable.