Property bond posted for Toledo man accused of murder, felonious assault

Allison Dunn, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
·2 min read

May 14—After reducing the bond to $1 million last month for a West Toledo man accused of fatally shooting a man and injuring two others at the Georgetown Village Apartments, a Lucas County judge granted a request Friday to accept property value for the man's release from jail.

On April 15, Judge Eric Marks granted defense attorney Ronnie Wingate's request to reduce bond for his client, Verlando Woods, from $2.5 million to $1 million for alternative counts of murder and five counts of felonious assault, all with gun specifications.

Mr. Woods is accused of fatally shooting Alex Padilla and injuring Paul Lis and Christopher Bazemore on Dec. 29, 2019, and has been jailed since his arrest later that day.

On Friday, Mr. Wingate and his client, along with the Lucas County prosecutor, appeared before Judge Marks for a bond hearing. Relatives of Mr. Woods presented 16 properties to cover the $1 million bond.

For property bond to be accepted in Lucas County, the property value generally must be double the amount of the bond — or $2 million in Mr. Wood's case. But Mr. Wingate asked the judge to waive those qualifications and accepted the value of the proposed properties, which is about $1.1 million.

Prosecutors did not object to the defense lawyer's request and Judge Marks allowed for the properties to be posted without the double amount requirement.

Judge Marks stressed to Mr. Woods that if he fails to appear for future court proceedings, his family's property would be subjected to liens.

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"I can assure you that I won't miss a court date or violate any of the terms, understanding that my family would lose everything that they worked for," Mr. Woods responded.

Relatives worked to file the necessary paperwork after Friday's hearing. Mr. Wingate indicated Mr. Woods would likely be released from the Lucas County jail next week.

Mr. Woods will reside with family and he will be placed on an electronic monitoring unit. He was also ordered to have no contact with the victims or their families. He is due back in court on June 8.

First Published May 14, 2021, 4:49pm