MONROE — Bond has been reduced for Derek Hammer, the area man jailed here pending trial on felony drug and other offenses — and among the last people to see his missing ex-girlfriend, Melissa Trumpy, alive.

Authorities have long maintained that he is uncooperative with those investigating the Monticello’s woman’s disappearance. She hasn’t been seen in over a year and numerous efforts to locate her — or any sign of her — were unsuccessful. 

On Tuesday, in a hearing before Rock County Circuit Judge Ashley J. Morse, his bond was reduced to $25,0000 from $50,000. Hammer, according to court records, has already paid $10,000 toward his bond.

Among many conditions of his bond, Hammer was ordered to have no contact with Trumpy’s family. He also can’t leave Stephenson and Carroll Counties except to return for his court dates in Green County.

Authorities said that just before she vanished, the 37-year-old set out in her car for Hammer’s home in Shannon, Ill. Hammer also faces charges in Illinois. For her part, Trumpy at one point also was charged in Green County with various felonies stemming from her time with Hammer.

Green Country charges against Hammer include bail jumping, possession of cocaine with intent to deliver; possession of THC with intent to deliver, maintaining a drug trafficking place, and possession of a firearm as a felon. 

Trumpy’s family aren’t in a hurry to see him make bond, said Ben Affrunti, the father of Melissa’s two youngest children. He said he’s glad Hammer is still behind bars event after the apparent bond reduction.

“I believe it is beyond criminally negligent if either the courts let him out, or negligence on his mother’s hands if she bonds him out again…” said Affrunti.

Hammer’s next court appearance on the charges is scheduled for April 14, 2023. A jury trial is scheduled for May 1, 2023. 

Trumpy is a white female, about 5-foot-10 and weighing about 160 pounds when she went missing. She has blue eyes, long blonde hair, a number of facial piercings and body tattoos.