Man charged in slaying of 70-year-old veteran asks for bond reduction
A man accused of shooting and killing a 70-year-old Mooresboro Army veteran last winter had his request for a bail reduction denied Wednesday in court.
David Allen Starnes, 54, of Rutherford County, is charged with first-degree murder after police say he shot and killed Claude Mitchell Bailey on Dec. 17, 2022.
Starnes' bail set at $2 million during a March hearing where details of the case were revealed.
According to an investigator at that earlier hearing, Starnes sent text messages to his family indicating he shot Bailey to settle a score and had plans to kill another man. Police said explosives and firearms were found at the home.
On Wednesday, in asking that the judge dismiss the motion for reduced bail, Cleveland County District Attorney Kevin Sherriff noted that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted a second search of Starnes’ home after his arrest.
Starnes' attorney, Anthony Morrow, explained the reason for the search was that, while his client was in custody, someone anonymously alleged Starnes was making threats of violence and had weapons and armor-piercing ammunition in his home. If those items were found in the second search was not revealed during the hearing. When reached afterward, Sherriff said he was unable to give details on the outcome.
Morrow called his client’s $2 million bond “unreachable and unreasonable,” saying Starnes is retired and only works part-time jobs on the side.
“This is a man who can’t afford this bond,” Morrow said.
He asked that the judge consider reducing bail to $1 million secured and said it was still significant and would ensure Starnes would appear in court.
He said Starnes' family has pooled their resources to cover his retainer fee.
Sherriff said the state is not sympathetic and evidence presented at the time his bail was set indicated Starnes had intentions of killing another person. Sherriff said that the Rutherford County man had 10 canisters of Tannerite, a legal explosive, and law enforcement alleges that Starnes had conducted incognito Google searches on how to make explosives and that he had looked up past bombings and prior cases of the killings of law enforcement officers.
He said Rutherford County has contemplated a charge of possession of weapons of mass destruction, although Starnes is only facing a charge of first-degree murder.
Sherriff called Starnes a threat to others.
“There is overwhelming evidence in this case,” Sherriff said. “He admitted to the murder of the victim and contemplating the murder of other individuals.”
Judge James Morgan said in light of the evidence presented, he saw no reason to modify Starnes’ bail and ordered it to remain at $2 million.
Reporter Rebecca Sitzes can be reached at rsitzes@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Man requests lower bond in murder case
