Bobby Ferguson, who wore his share of pretty snazzy suits during his recent trial with pal Kwame Kilpatrick, won't be wearing them any time soon.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds, in an 8-page ruling filed Thursday morning, shot down his request to be freed on bond pending sentencing, saying she felt he would not hesitate to "prevail upon friends to help him flee."
Ferguson had filed a motion on Wednesday asking to be freed, and offered up five homes belonging to friends and family as collateral for bond. He has been behind bars at Milan federal prison since March 11, the day he was convicted on 9 of 11 public corruption counts, including racketeering and extortion. Edmunds has also denied Kilpatrick's bid to go free.
Edmunds wrote that Ferguson failed to show the value of the homes, and noted that the court disfavors putting up property in lieu of cash, a cashier's check or credit card for bond.
Edmunds reiterated some things that prosecutors argued previously, noting that Ferguson:
(1) has a 2005 conviction for assault with the intent to do great bodily harm in connection with the pistolwhipping of a former employee; (2) disregarded the court’s directive not to possess a firearm as evidenced by the government’s recovery (a) in 2009 of two semi-automatic pistols from his place of business, and (b) in 2010 when a loaded shotgun was recovered during the execution of a search warrant at a residence known to be frequented by Defendant; (3) has a history of being able to access large sums of cash; (4) placed a home in Southfield in the name of one of his employees to evade law enforcement; (5) gavePretrial Services multiple addresses as his residence; (4) as reflected in trial testimony, sought to obstruct justice by (a) threatening Officer Fountain in connection with citations issued against Defendant, (b) instructing witnesses in this matter to lie to the FBI and the grand jury, and (c) instructed one of his employees to take responsibility for one of the weapons recovered from his business in 2009; and (6) since the jury found Defendant Ferguson guilty of nine felonies, including a RICO conspiracy, he faces a lengthy prison sentence, one well in excess of the months between now and his sentencing.
Ferguson's attorney, in court filings on Wednesday, tried to play down a 1999 fraudulent driver's license his client obtained in 1999 under the name "Antonio Cortez-Julian Talley." The license expired in 2002.
Edmunds was bothered by the fake license, noting:
That Defendant Ferguson was able to obtain a government document with a false identity once shows that he likely can do so again and thus presents a flight risk.
Edmunds noted that Ferguson faces a substantial sentences, which adds to the prospect of him being a flight risk.
