Judge denies bond for Bowling

Thursday, January 31, 2008

NASHVILLE – An N.C. Superior Court judge denied a request Wednesday to allow bond for a Rocky Mount funeral home director as he awaits trial in the December 2006 murder of his wife.

During a pretrial hearing, N.C. Superior Court Judge Quentin Sumner denied a motion by defense attorneys that would have allowed Mark Bowling to be freed on bond.

Several defense motions that would have prevented the state from seeking the death penalty were also denied during the hearing.

Bowling, 37, has been held for more than a year in Central Prison in Raleigh. He sat before Sumner as his defense team argued for his release and showed little emotion during the three-hour hearing.

Bowling is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the shooting death of 45-year-old Julie Bowling, who was gunned down on Dec. 9, 2006, in her garage on River Glenn. Bowling and his alleged mistress and accomplice, 28-year-old Rose Vincent, both face the death penalty if convicted.

With hopes of working with Bowling outside the confines of prison, his defense team of Tommy Moore and Tom Sallenger submitted and argued for a motion requesting bond. Moore said Bowling's family and friends, many of whom were at the hearing, would be able to help post bond if a reasonable number was set.

"Judge, we maintain and unequivocally believe that when this matter is before an unbiased jury of his peers, that he will be found not guilty," Moore said. "No trial date has been set, and we feel that no trial date is realistically in sight."

Moore argued that not allowing Bowling an opportunity to post bond violates the Eighth Amendment, which bars the state from setting excessive bail. Given the delays posed during the State Bureau of Investigation's discovery process, and because his client poses no threat to flee the state, Moore said, there is no good reason to deny him bond.

"There is no person in this courtroom that wants to be at his trial more than Mark Bowling," Moore said. "He lost everything he owned; he lost his wife; he lost all of his property; and he wants to come into a courtroom and be exonerated. He will be in court."

Assistant District Attorney Keith Werner argued that because Bowling's trial will be a high-profile capital case, precedent suggests the court should not allow bond.

Sumner ruled against the motion without further discussion.

Moore and Sallenger also argued a number of motions that would have kept the state from seeking the death penalty against Bowling, all of which were denied by Sumner.

Sumner did, however, approve a gag order that will bar any person involved with the trial from disclosing information to media.

Bowling's case has garnered intense media coverage in the last year. Both the defense and prosecution hope to limit that coverage in the future.

As the investigation process continues to unfold, it's not clear when the Bowling and Vincent trials will start. Moore suggested Wednesday that it could be several months to more than a year before the trial begins.

Sumner scheduled Bowling's next hearing for Feb. 25.