from www.contracostatimes.com – The pornography heir charged with killing his ex-girlfriend in Novato won a legal round Monday when a judge agreed to grant him a bail amount.
But at $5 million, the bail level is still so high that James Raphael Mitchell is unlikely to post it, his lawyer said.
“We’re going to see if we can get it reduced down,” said defense attorney Terence Hallinan. “That amount is effectively denial of bail.”
The case prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Charles Cacciatore, said Mitchell should continue to be held without bail.
“It’s an issue that we intend to revisit at the preliminary hearing,” Cacciatore said.
Mitchell, 29, of Pittsburg has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, domestic violence, kidnapping, child abduction and child endangerment. He is accused of beating ex-girlfriend Danielle Keller to death with a baseball bat on July 12 and then kidnapping their 1-year-old daughter, Samantha.
The attack occurred at the Novato home Keller, 29, and the baby shared with Keller’s mother.
Police arrested Mitchell later that night after tracking him and the baby down in Citrus Heights. The girl was not physically injured.
Judge Kelly Simmons granted the $5 million bail amount during a hearing Monday morning in Marin Superior Court. To post bail, Mitchell would have to pay $500,000 for a bail bond or $5 million in cash, or put up $10 million in property as collateral to guarantee his appearance in court.
It was unclear whether Mitchell’s family has – or would be willing to use – the money to bail him out.
Mitchell’s father, Jim, and uncle, Artie, built a pornography empire that included the O’Farrell Theatre in San Francisco and films such as “Behind the Green Door,” and a family trust is in place. But the younger Mitchell allegedly threatened family members with a gun and his sister filed a restraining order against him.
Both his uncle and father are dead. Jim Mitchell shot Artie Mitchell to death in 1991, served a prison term for manslaughter, and died of a heart attack in 2007.
Mitchell returns to court Oct. 5 for a preliminary examination of the evidence, during which Simmons will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to try Mitchell on the charges.
Hallinan, the defense attorney, has previously acknowledged that Mitchell likely attacked the victim, but he disputed the first-degree murder charge, which suggests there was premeditation. Hallinan said the incident appeared to be a “crime of passion.”