MONROE - The attorney for a Brodhead woman accused of trying to kill her estranged husband filed a request this week to lower her bail by more than 90 percent.
Roxann D. Nordeng, 59, had her cash bail set at $100,000 in mid-May for a Class B felony charge of attempted first-degree intentional homicide filed against her in Green County Circuit Court, related to an incident May 9 at the Crazy Horse Campground west of Brodhead.
Her attorney, Philip Brehm of Janesville, contends the bail amount is beyond her ability to pay and is unreasonable, given Nordeng's lack of a criminal record. He argues she should be able to get out of jail on a lower bail so she can return to friends and family in the area.
In a motion filed Thursday, June 13, Brehm wrote:
"She has no prior criminal history. She has no history of missing court. She has no history of violating court orders. She retired from General Motors in Janesville after working there for over 20 years. She has friends and family members in this area. She has lifelong ties to the Green County area."
Nordeng is willing "to comply with any and all nonmonetary conditions of bond to be set by the court, including a curfew, if necessary," he wrote.
Citing Wisconsin statutes, he concluded that "setting a cash bail beyond defendant's ability to post is contrary to the policy of unnecessary detention of a defendant pending trial."
He is suggesting a bail of $5,000 to $7,500.
A hearing on lowering Nordeng's bail is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, June 20, before Lafayette County Judge William Johnston at the Green County Justice Center. Nordeng's case was previously heard by Green County Judge James Beer, but she successfully petitioned in late May for a substitution of judge.
Nordeng pleaded not guilty in May to the attempted homicide charge and to the related charges, a felony count of burglary and a misdemeanor count of intentionally pointing a firearm at a person.
At her preliminary hearing, her husband, Arthur R. Nordeng, 64, and a woman identified as his live-in girlfriend, Chasadie M. Ayotte, 27, testified that Roxann Nordeng tried on the evening of May 9 to make good on numerous threats to kill them.
Roxann Nordeng reportedly showed up at their trailer home wearing latex gloves and carrying a loaded Smith & Wesson .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol in a Ziploc bag.
Her husband testified that she pointed the gun at him, and when he grabbed the barrel in a "death grip" to point it away from him, her finger pulled the trigger and the gun fired upwards, causing no injuries but leaving a hole in the trailer's screen door.
Nordeng filed for a divorce from her husband in May 2011. Court records indicate it is still pending.
Roxann D. Nordeng, 59, had her cash bail set at $100,000 in mid-May for a Class B felony charge of attempted first-degree intentional homicide filed against her in Green County Circuit Court, related to an incident May 9 at the Crazy Horse Campground west of Brodhead.
Her attorney, Philip Brehm of Janesville, contends the bail amount is beyond her ability to pay and is unreasonable, given Nordeng's lack of a criminal record. He argues she should be able to get out of jail on a lower bail so she can return to friends and family in the area.
In a motion filed Thursday, June 13, Brehm wrote:
"She has no prior criminal history. She has no history of missing court. She has no history of violating court orders. She retired from General Motors in Janesville after working there for over 20 years. She has friends and family members in this area. She has lifelong ties to the Green County area."
Nordeng is willing "to comply with any and all nonmonetary conditions of bond to be set by the court, including a curfew, if necessary," he wrote.
Citing Wisconsin statutes, he concluded that "setting a cash bail beyond defendant's ability to post is contrary to the policy of unnecessary detention of a defendant pending trial."
He is suggesting a bail of $5,000 to $7,500.
A hearing on lowering Nordeng's bail is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, June 20, before Lafayette County Judge William Johnston at the Green County Justice Center. Nordeng's case was previously heard by Green County Judge James Beer, but she successfully petitioned in late May for a substitution of judge.
Nordeng pleaded not guilty in May to the attempted homicide charge and to the related charges, a felony count of burglary and a misdemeanor count of intentionally pointing a firearm at a person.
At her preliminary hearing, her husband, Arthur R. Nordeng, 64, and a woman identified as his live-in girlfriend, Chasadie M. Ayotte, 27, testified that Roxann Nordeng tried on the evening of May 9 to make good on numerous threats to kill them.
Roxann Nordeng reportedly showed up at their trailer home wearing latex gloves and carrying a loaded Smith & Wesson .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol in a Ziploc bag.
Her husband testified that she pointed the gun at him, and when he grabbed the barrel in a "death grip" to point it away from him, her finger pulled the trigger and the gun fired upwards, causing no injuries but leaving a hole in the trailer's screen door.
Nordeng filed for a divorce from her husband in May 2011. Court records indicate it is still pending.