NEWS

Bond tripled for David A. Chase

Brian Haas
bhaas@tennessean.com

A judge on Thursday refused to revoke the bond of prominent developer David A. Chase this afternoon despite what prosecutors said was a third violation of the conditions of his bond.

Prosecutors had asked Circuit Court Judge Amanda McClendon to jail him until trial because an ankle monitor detected that he was drinking on Aug. 9. Chase, 37, had previously signed an order agreeing not to drink alcohol as he awaited trial on a 2012 DUI charge.

Thursday's hearing marked the third time prosecutors have tried to have Chase's bond revoked since the 2012 charge. The first time came in March, a month after he was arrested on a second DUI — a case that was later dropped. The second came in June, when investigators say Chase dragged his ex-girlfriend, Lauren Aletia Bull, out of his apartment by her ponytail. He was arrested and then released from jail hours later, when police say he returned to the apartment, broke Bull's phone and choked her until she lost consciousness.

McClendon instead increased Chase's bond from $3,000 to $9,000 and ordered him confined to house arrest this weekend. He will continue to be monitored on an ankle alcohol device and via GPS.

All said, Chase is currently awaiting the outcome on six charges in two separate cases, two counts of DUI from the 2012 case, and domestic assault, aggravated assault, vandalism over $1,000 and interfering with a 911 call from the June incidents involving his ex-girlfriend.

Questions about domestic violence cases

The latter case rocked Nashville's criminal justice community, calling into question Chase's connection to the judge in his cases and how domestic violence arrests are handled generally.

That June night, after Chase's initial arrest on domestic assault, General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland ordered that he not be held for a 12-hour cooling off period. He was released a few hours after arrest, only to return and attack his girlfriend a second time, police have said.

Moreland, it turned out, was a close friend of Chase's attorney at the time, Bryan Lewis. The pair even vacationed together. Previously, Lewis had been able to get a 2009 DUI charge against Chase pleaded down to reckless driving and a February 2014 DUI charge dropped altogether — both cases in front of Moreland. It was also at Lewis' request that Moreland waived the 12-hour cooling off period in June.

Chase has since switched attorneys.

He's also engaged in dueling orders of protection with his ex-girlfriend, who in June told a judge she thought Chase would kill her when she was attacked. Chase has accused Bull of attacking him. Both have filed orders of protection against one another, and a judge will hear their arguments at a later date.

Drinking with the monitor

Thursday's hearing stemmed from the bond conditions of that 2012 case, which required him to wear the ankle monitor. On Aug. 9, prosecutors say the monitor detected a day of drinking beginning around 6:43 a.m., peaking around 11:26 a.m. with a blood-alcohol level of .137 and finally stopping just after 8 p.m. that evening.

The drinking took place at his home, his monitoring records showed.

Assistant District Attorney General Chandler Harris asked McClendon to jail Chase until the DUI case concluded, saying he had been given enough chances.

"Here we are, yet again, for the third time since March," Harris said. "I'm not a big baseball fan, but I know a little about three strikes and you're out."

Chase's attorney, Rich McGee, argued that the Aug. 9 alcohol violation was a "hiccup" and that Chase has since gone into rehab and is seeing a counselor. He blamed the media for "demonizing" him and said he was under incredible pressure.

"David Chase is doing reasonably well when you consider what he is under," McGee said. "He made one mistake in a six-month period of time and the state is seeking the most draconian of results."

McClendon didn't explain her reasoning, but declined to revoke Chase's bond. She said she would instead "severely increase" his bond from $3,000 to $9,000 and told him he couldn't leave his house from 8 p.m. tonight until 8 p.m. Sunday.

Chase on Wednesday officially stepped aside as the lead developer of the 240-room Virgin Hotels Nashville planned on Music Row, saying he wanted to focus on clearing his name of domestic assault charges. He also resigned as executive vice president of D.F. Chase Inc., general contractor for the hotel project.

Reach Brian Haas at 615-726-8968 and on Twitter @brianhaas.