Gun-Toting Granny Denied Bail
TAMARAC (CBSMiami) – A 67-year-old Tamarac grandmother was denied bond in the shooting of her son-in-law.
It's a case that's captured national attention, after sounds of the shooting from last December were recorded on the son-in-law's iPhone.
Broward Circuit Judge Michael Tenzer denied the request for bond after some dramatic moments during an Arthur hearing.
The recording from the Iphone were played in court at the beginning of the hearing. You hear the gunshots and screams and the voices of the grandmother, Cheryl Hepner, and her son-in-law, 39-year-old Salvatore Miglino.
Profanity is heard on the tape as Miglino expresses disbelief that he was shot.
Miglino had been going through a bitter divorce with Hepner's daughter and decided to record the visit in case there was trouble last December 7th.
Prosecutor Michelle Boutros said Miglino was shot three times in what she described in court as a "failed execution." Hepner is charged with Attempted murder. Miglino was struck in the rib cage and shoulder.
In another dramatic moment in court, Boutros asked Miglino to show the Judge his wounds. He came forward, took off his jacket and opened up his shirt.
Boutros then said that Miglino was "afraid of the defendant and afraid to go to work." She said Miglino believed his life "was in danger."
Hepner's attorney Michael Tenzer said Hepner had no criminal record and was a "dedicated parent and spouse" and was "caretaker" to her husband, Sheldon.
Her 68-year-old husband was later charged as an accessory after the fact but that was dropped on January 6th, the day after he died after suffering from a long, untreatable illness.
Hepner has been held without bond ever since the shooting.
Tenzer said Hepner suffered from a "severe case" of psoriasis and could not get medication in jail and also had high blood pressure and was not getting the regular medical checks that she needed as a cancer survivor.
Tenzer argued that a bond of between $20,000 and $25,000 would be fair and said the Judge could even impose restrictions of where Hepner went.
But the Judge sided with the state's position that bond should not be granted. And so it appears that Hepner will remain in jail until her trial, unless there is a new legal challenge or unless the current charge is amended and there is another bond hearing.
Miglino's attorney Peter Mineo Junior told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that the Judge's decision made sense and that Hepner did pose a danger.
Earlier, prominent psychologist Michael Brannon testified that Hepner was a "low risk" to commit violence again.
At a separate hearing, Judge Usan ruled that the iPhone recording would remain as evidence in this case. Tenzer had argued that the recording was made illegally and that Hepner had an expectation of privacy. But Boutros said there was legal precedent that such a recording was legal.
Some of Hepner's supporters were at the hearings, but declined to say anything as they left the courtroom on the 7th floor of the Broward Courthouse.
