Cedra Mayfield
Bond for a Louisville man charged with killing his landlord has been dropped after he made his first court appearance. Initially set at $500,000 after his arrest, a Jefferson District Court judge reduced the bond for Anthony Jecker, 54, to $25,000 during his arraignment on July 15.
Jecker is charged with murder and tampering with evidence in the July 14 shooting death of James Scott Tolle, 49, of Jeffersonville, Indiana.
What neighbors said began as a dispute over an electric bill, police said ended with Tolle shot and killed by Jecker, a tenant of Tolle’s Louisville apartment complex on Fegenbush Lane in the Norfolk neighborhood.
“It was a dispute during the day over an unpaid bill,” said Lt. Todd Kessinger, commander of the Louisville Metro Police Homicide Squad. “The suspect approached the victim with a handgun where the argument escalated into the shots being fired.”
Thanks to witness accounts, detectives quickly tracked down Jecker, who initially fled the scene.
“He agreed to meet us to discuss the case,” said Lt. Kessinger.
As of Tuesday, detectives continued to search for exactly what sparked the deadly altercation.
“We’ve interviewed several people that were close by when it happened,” said Lt. Kessinger.
One of those witnesses did not wish to speak on camera but told WAVE 3 News tenants do not pay a shared-rate electric bill. The witness claimed the dispute between the men arose because money given to Tolle by Jecker for a utility bill instead went toward back rent.
“I’ve heard the argument started over an unpaid bill. I haven’t confirmed what type of bill or where it was from or how that works out or what the monetary value of the bill was,” said Lt. Kessinger.
Jecker has been appointed a public defender and is expected back in court on July 25.
Source: wave3
