Like Father, Like Son?

Yesterday afternoon CourtWatch monitored a bond motion for 19-year old Winter Garden resident Christopher Brannon, who had been arrested on 10/1/09 for Burglary with Assault or Battery (a felony punishable by life in prison) against his ex-girlfriend, who is 17-years old.  Assistant State Attorney Michelle Latham did a thorough job of demonstrating the defendant's propensity toward violent behavior directed at the victim.

In addition to testimony about his stalking behavior, State witnesses testified about three separate instances of alleged vandalism to her vehicle (dents, a broken window, slashed tires), tearing a dress she owned (not while she was wearing it), gaining access to the home without permission, punching holes into interior doors, and making suicide threats.  The victim has repeatedly not wanted to pursue a criminal case. That is, until this assault on October 1st wherein he shoved his way into her home while her mother was at work, grabbed her, shattered her cell phone, and smashed the back of her head into a table - all because he just wanted to talk to her and she repeatedly begged him to leave.

This young man scares me. He looks like such a nice young man. In fact, that's what all the witnesses for the defense testified. They talked about how polite and well-mannered he is when he visits their homes. I wonder if they've ever seen him spend time with his girlfriend. His actions at such a young age demonstrate textbook Power & Control Wheel behavior.

This young man's father scares me too. He took pride in mentioning his service to our country as a Marine, and is now employed as an intelligence analyst for a defense contractor (something I admire & greatly appreciate). His demeanor, however, screamed "power and control" to me. He minimized his son's previous brush with the law (a petit theft charge), repeatedly stated "I can assure you..." or "I can state unequivocally..." that he would stay on top of his son should Judge Alicia Latimore see fit to grant a bond. He stressed the "Marine traits" of honesty, dependability, trustworthiness, and respect for authority as traits that he had instilled in his son. He testified that his son assumes the role of "man of the house" when dad travels for his job. Even though the attorneys and the judge questioned him several times about how extensively he travels, a clear answer was never given (i.e., how many nights per month he was out of town). I also wonder, is Mom not capable of running the household when her husband is away? Why would a teenager be given this kind of authority when Mom is there?

And then Judge Latimore commented that perhaps Dad had impulse control issues because he had to be ejected from the courtroom last week for losing his temper at a previous hearing. I'm sorry I missed that hearing.

Ultimately, the judge granted a $15,000 bond (which was $10,000 more than defense counsel Michael Lafay requested), home confinement in his parents' home (except when working or as otherwise approved by the home confinement officer), ordered no contact with the victim or her family, stay more than 1 mile away from the victim's residence and 1/2 mile away from her high school, and to possess no weapons.

I am unclear as to why GPS tracking was not ordered.  If the judge is going to permit Mr. Brannon to go to work, he needs to be tracked. The victim's home is only 4 miles away from his. And her high school is only 1/2 mile away from where he lives.

Both Brannons frighten me.

But what frightens me most is that a young girl is at now at risk because her ex-boyfriend in out of jail without GPS tracking to monitor his movements.