Bond denied.
Twelfth Circuit Judge Deno Economou denied bond April 19 to Eugene Matthews, 83, jailed since his arrest Jan. 10, when he presumably shot and killed a former Anna Maria Island hairstylist outside his Parrish home.
Rebecca Rawson, of Bradenton, died in the shooting.
Matthews also is charged with the attempted murder of her daughter, Kathyrn Rawson, and her brother-in-law Rodney Rawson.
Rodney Rawson watched the proceedings in the courtroom gallery with about 35 other people.
Rebecca Rawson once lived in Holmes Beach and, for 30 years, was a hairstylist at Head Quarters Salon in Holmes Beach and at an Anna Maria salon, Lor-Ells Hair Design, which closed in June 2016.
Kathryn Rawson worked for Island Cabana, a boutique on Pine Avenue in Anna Maria.
Matthews is expected to remain in the Manatee County jail until his trial, now set for May.
Economou said his decision was “solely” on the question of bond and “based on the evidence.”
Assistant State Attorney Darlene Ragoonanan asked the judge to deny bond in accordance with the “Arthur rule,” a 1980 Florida Supreme Court case, because the evidence met the Arthur standard of “proof of guilt is evident or the presumption great.”
She called Manatee County sheriff’s detectives Darryl Davis and Daniel Dickerman to the stand.
Davis testified in Matthews’ first phone call from jail, Matthews stated “he shot the car full of holes.” Another recorded jail call indicated he didn’t know who he’d shot, but that the people included a “big guy,” Davis said, in an apparent reference to Rodney Rawson.
Dickerman said he walked past a gun belt and holster on the front porch of Matthews’ home before he opened an unlocked door to clear the house.
Davis and Dickerman testified the crime scene was consistent with Rawsons’ vehicle backing out of the driveway to flee after Matthews came out shooting.
Matthews’ attorney, D. Scott Rieth, questioned Davis about the consistency of front-end vehicle damage.
Davis responded it’s consistent due to the high-speed crash into the ditch. One of the defense theories is the vehicle crashed through the gate when it came onto the property.
Testimony also came from Daniel Alfonso. He testified he owns the vehicle the Rawsons drove to the Matthews’ residence to retrieve Bart, Ed Rawson’s dog. Alfonso also is the father of Kathryn’s fiancé and their family lives on the same street as Matthews.
Ed Rawson is a former Holmes Beach resident. He died about a week before Rebecca Rawson. Alfonso said Kathryn Rawson was just getting to the dog’s retrieval after her father’s death.
Alfonso also testified the Rawsons met with Matthews at the house about coming to get the dog two days before the Jan. 10 shooting.
MCSO Deputy Rodney Norris also testified to a 2007 investigation at Matthews’ home, when Matthews yelled, telling him he was trespassing. Norris told Matthews to stop moving toward a truck and arrested him when he failed to obey his directions. He later found an AK-47 in the truck.
Rieth pointed out the MCSO had arrested Matthews eight times, but he was never convicted.
“Can you see why he doesn’t like law enforcement?” Rieth stated.
Rieth asked the judge to set “a reasonable bond on all three charges.” He suggested a monitor, say he is not a flight risk because he “usually stays on his property.”
Rieth pointed to “issues about how people gained entry onto the property and into the house,” that the Rawsons arrived “unannounced after dark” and a boot mark on the front door.
Rieth has suggested he will present a stand-your-ground defense.
For the defense, Rieth called Juanita Sills, Matthews’ girlfriend, who lives on Pritchart Road but was at Matthew’s house that night to testify about the boot mark on the front door.
Sills said Rodney Rawson kicked the door and shoved her. She also testified the mark hadn’t been on the door before that night.
On cross, however, Sills said she had opened the door when Rawson knocked.
Asked for his take on the proceeding, Rodney Rawson said Sills was “lying through her teeth,” and questioned why Matthews and Sills “wouldn’t want us to have our dog” since they already had two dogs.
The next hearing is set for a May 5 docket sounding — a two-week trial period with May 15 as the first possible trial date.
Court proceedings are held at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave., W., Bradenton.
