According to a story published on TampaBay.com this afternoon, Pinellas County Court Judge Henry Andringa refused to lower the $500,000 Bail for former Clearwater Fire Chief Jamie Geer, who was arrested Monday and accused of Capital Sexual Battery (which requires a mandatory LIFE in prison sentence).The request to lower the Bail came from local attorney Nat Kidder, who previously handled Geer’s divorce case and is discussing whether to represent Geer in this serious criminal case. Judge Henry Andringa said Geer could request a Bond Reduction Hearing, in the future, to argue that Geer’s bail should be reduced.
“I think everyone concerned is dismayed,” Kidder said after the hearing, when asked for his reaction to the charge against the former Clearwater Fire Chief. “Like any citizen, he has the presumption of innocence.”
He added: “I have not seen anything other than the basic paperwork. I don’t know the quality of the State’s evidence.”
At the request of Pinellas County prosecutors, Judge Andringa ordered Geer not to have any contact with the girl in the case. Geer is accused of sexually abusing her for years, starting when she was 8 or 9. She is now 17.