Former fugitive Gordon Weaver will probably remain behind bars while he awaits a new trial in the 1999 death of his wife after a judge on Tuesday denied a defense motion to lower Weaver's $10 million bail.
Ramsey County District Judge Salvador Rosas said the case is "too close to a resolution to risk it."
Weaver, 51, skipped out on bail in March 2000 after a grand jury handed up an indictment charging him with first-degree murder in connection with Jean Weaver's death in the couple's White Bear Lake home.
He abandoned his vehicle in the Chicago area and attempted to make it look like he had been killed. Instead, he took a train to the West Coast, eventually settling in Florence, Ore., under a false name.
Authorities found him in May 2004 after his story was broadcast on "America's Most Wanted." He was convicted of second-degree murder in 2005. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ordered a new trial after ruling that blood-test results had been improperly admitted into evidence.
Defense attorney Joe Friedberg argued Tuesday that since Weaver is charged with unintentional second-degree murder and has already served almost half of the presumptive sentence for that crime, "now there is far less reason for him to flee." He urged the judge to place strict conditions on Weaver's release, including electronic monitoring via an ankle bracelet and to require daily checks.
But prosecutor Eric Leonard called Weaver "the poster child for flight risk."
Weaver still faces serious consequences and has significant financial resources available to him, Leonard said.
