Chapter 8 - The Bail Hearing
At two o’clock on Thursday afternoon, I attended Julian’s preliminary arraignment and bail hearing via a secure video link from my hospital room.
Marcus had arranged for a high-powered victim’s rights attorney to sit beside me off-camera.
We needed to ensure that the District Attorney’s office didn't buckle under the immense pressure of the Vance family name.
On the high-definition monitor, the Suffolk County courtroom was packed to standing room only.
Reporters filled the back benches, their pens moving furiously as Julian was led to the defense table by two marshals.
He was no longer wearing his bespoke suit; instead, he wore a drab orange county jail jumpsuit.
His wrists were handcuffed in front of him, and he looked unshaven, exhausted, and deeply humiliated.
His defense attorney immediately launched into an aggressive petition for release on personal recognizance.
“Your Honor, my client is a pillar of the New England philanthropic community, and this incident has been blown out of proportion by social media.”
He claimed it was merely a tragic sibling misunderstanding during a high-stress family event.
“Mr. Vance poses zero flight risk and has zero prior criminal history,” the lawyer argued grandly.
The presiding judge, a no-nonsense woman named Honorable Sarah Jenkins, didn't even look up from her paperwork.
She tapped her pen against the microphone, her expression as hard as New England granite.
“Mr. Vance’s counsel mentions that this was a sibling misunderstanding,” Judge Jenkins said coldly.
“I spent my lunch hour reviewing the 4K video evidence submitted by the prosecution.”
She stated that what she saw was a healthy, grown man deliberately terrorizing a wheelchair-bound woman.
“He grabbed her mobility device and threw her into a glass display with enough force to cause significant bodily harm.”
She leaned over her high bench, glaring down at Julian, who refused to lift his eyes from the defense table.
“Given the defendant’s vast financial resources, his access to private aircraft, and documented attempts by his family to bribe the victim, I am denying personal recognizance.”
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She set his bail at ten million dollars cash, with mandatory electronic ankle monitoring and a complete stay-away order from me and the endowment.
“The defendant is remanded to county custody until bail is posted,” the judge declared, banging her gavel.
