A Kentucky defendant attended his trial but fled before the verdict. Should his bond be forfeited?

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- On trial for attempted murder, Vernon Jackson fled before the jury reached a verdict, and, in so doing, created a legal conundrum that appears to be unprecedented in Kentucky.

Did Jackson fulfill the conditions of his bond by showing up for trial or does the man who put up his bond have to forfeit it because Jackson wasn't there for the verdict?

The unheard-of legal question is playing out in Jackson's case while he is still on the run as both sides argue when exactly the obligations are upheld after someone posts a bond that allows a defendant to remain out of jail as long as he or she shows up for hearings and the trial.

The Jefferson Commonwealth's Attorney's office argued April 22 that the bond posted for Jackson in January — $70,000 in property — should be forfeited because Jackson cut off his home incarceration program bracelet and escaped while the jury was deliberating charges of attempted murder, assault and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun.

Jackson was charged in connection with a shooting that left a man in critical condition in 2021.

Prosecutors argue he violated Kentucky criminal procedures on bond by "failing to appear for the remainder of his jury trial, and not staying in touch with his attorney," Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Milja Zgonjanin wrote. But attorney Jan Waddell, who represents the man who posted the bond, David Fortney, argued in court records that Jackson fulfilled his bond conditions by showing up for trial March 4. He did not escape until after the trial had concluded three days later.

Fortney "has no continuing responsibility to secure the Defendants appearance before the court after the Defendant has appeared for trial," Waddell wrote May 6.

Waddell also argued that the prosecution "failed to secure" Fortney's signature on the bond, meaning he was never made aware that one of the conditions of Jackson's bond was that he maintain communication with his attorney.

Jackson's attorney Casey McCall has withdrawn from the case.

Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Annie O'Connell has scheduled a hearing on the issue for June 4.

Erran Huber, a spokesman for the Commonwealth's Attorney's office, said the office is not aware of any similar cases in Kentucky where a defendant escaped during the jury deliberation and there is also no precedent for the bond issue.

"We're not aware of any other case that has ended in a similar fashion as this one," he said. "Ultimately, it's up to the judge to decide."

Had Jackson waited for the jury's decision, he would have been able to go home.

After four hours of deliberation, the jury couldn't come to a unanimous decision and the judge declared a mistrial.

O'Connell issued a warrant for his arrest.

"This is a new situation I've never encountered," Jackson's attorney Casey McCall said in court upon learning his client had escaped, according to a video of the trial.

"Nor have I, I'll be honest," O'Connell replied.

Prosecutors will retry Jackson on the original charges as well as charges involving his escape.

After the verdict, McCall said he would have argued that Jackson be taken off of home interaction given the prosecution couldn't get a conviction.

Once arrested, his bond will be set at $250,000.

The ankle monitor was recovered but Jackson has not been found.

On April 9, 2021, Jackson was at a gentlemen's club at 3608 Seventh Street Road and had just paid to get in when there was a shooting in another part of the club, causing the business to immediately close.

Police have said he became upset because he had just paid to get in and the employee working the door offered to repay Jackson from his own pocket because Jackson's money had been placed in a locked drop box, but "Jackson was still angry."

That's when Jackson "came at" the employee who ran from the business to a nearby gas station with Jackson chasing him, according to police. The employee then began running along Berry Boulevard, as Jackson got into a car and continued chasing him.

As the man ran between two buildings, police say Jackson got out of the car and again demanded his money before pulling a gun and shooting the victim "several times in the abdomen and extremities" before leaving the scene.

The victim was taken to University Hospital in critical condition with life-threatening gunshot wounds.

Investigators reviewed surveillance video from the gas station with the victim, who was able to identify Jackson as the person who shot him, according to police.

Jackson has pleaded not guilty.

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