Published: Friday, December 24, 2010, 5:34 AM
MOBILE, Alabama -- While Andy Harvey’s family spends this Christmas mourning his death, the man accused of shooting and beating him to death is free on bail.Harvey was shot this month outside the Paradise Lounge in the Eight Mile area, where he liked to play pool.
“We had Christmas presents under the tree for him,” said Harvey’s daughter in-law, Tosha Harvey. “He won’t ever get them.”
Jerry Dwayne Bohannon, 48, was released from Mobile County Metro Jail on $250,000 through a bonding company on Dec. 13, two days after police say he gunned down Harvey and Jerry DuBoise, 24, outside Paradise.
Prichard police said that the shooting was captured entirely on a surveillance camera. A family member of one of the victims said that the shooter also beat the men with his handgun until it broke.
Tosha Harvey of Satsuma said that her father-in-law loved his family, which included his wife, five children and seven grandchildren. She said her family’s pain has been worsened by Bohannon’s release from jail.
“It’s just really a tragic situation,” Tosha Harvey said. “I know our constitution says innocent until proven guilty, but it’s on surveillance tape. What more do they need?”
Prichard Police Chief Jimmie Gardner, concerned about Bohannon’s release, said prosecutors had sought a $500,000 bail. They then asked that the lower bail be paid in cash, he said, but District Judge George Hardesty denied the request.
Gardner said, “My responsibility is for the public safety. And I just think the guy is a threat to himself and the public.”
With the help of a bonding company, Bohannon paid no more than $25,000 to be freed with no monitoring, Gardner said.
He said the shooting was recorded “from start to finish,” but he declined to describe the events because of the ongoing investigation.
Defense lawyer Bob Clark said that Bohannon maintains his innocence and that evidence is still being gathered. “He has a right — a constitutional right — to bail,” Clark said.
According to the bartender that night, DuBoise and Harvey started playing pool about 2 a.m., mostly keeping to themselves. Harvey might have had one drink, the bartender said, but he didn’t finish it. DuBoise drank nothing but Coke.
Bohannon, who had been in and out of the bar since midnight, consumed a number of beers, according to the bartender.
Bohannon is scheduled to appear in Mobile County District Court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 27.
(Staff reporter David Ferrara contributed to this report.)
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