A Packwood man charged in October 2023 for allegedly assaulting a woman and threatening to kill a neighbor who attempted to intervene is back in custody after a surety company surrendered his bail.
Bradley Chester Odman, 51, was first arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail on Oct. 28 after a woman reported Odman had assaulted her once the evening of Oct. 26 and again the evening of Oct. 27, and had threatened to kill a neighbor who attempted to intervene in the Oct. 27 assault.
Odman was charged in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, Oct. 30, with one count each of domestic violence second-degree assault, domestic violence fourth-degree assault, domestic violence felony harassment, second-degree assault and felony harassment.
He has since pleaded not guilty to all charges.
During a preliminary hearing on Oct. 30, Judge Joely Yeager agreed to grant the state’s request for $100,000 bail, calling the allegations “extremely concerning not only to this victim but to community safety as a whole,” according to previous Chronicle reporting.
Odman posted that $100,000 bail via a bail bonds business, American Surety Company, on Nov. 17, according to court documents.
The company offers surety bonds, where the inmate pays 10% of the full bail amount and signs a contract assuring the company they have adequate assets to satisfy the full bail amount. In the event the defendant violates their release conditions and their bail is revoked, the company pays the full bail amount to the court and recovers the money via the defendant’s assets.
Odman was out of custody on the bail bond until Friday, April 5, when the American Surety Company surrendered Odman’s bond.
“He (Odman) is very confused as to why,” defense attorney Rachael Tiller said Monday.
While Tiller asked for Commissioner Paul Strophy to reduce the $100,000 bail amount due to the fact that Odman has been out of custody for months and hasn’t missed a hearing, Strophy ruled Monday to keep the bail at $100,000.
“It's unfortunate. I don’t know what the circumstances are … but there hasn’t been a change to the community safety risk,” Strophy said Monday.
As of Tuesday, Lewis County Superior Court did not have a documented reason from American Surety Company for why the company surrendered Odman’s bond.
Odman’s case is scheduled to go to trial on May 20.
