The bond for a Green River man accused of trying to kill his wife Sunday was reset at $900,000 cash or surety Wednesday afternoon during a hearing in Circuit Court Judge John Prokos’ court.
Bradley Setzer was charged with first-degree attempted murder, a felony, and a misdemeanor interference with a peace officer. The charges stem from an incident where he allegedly tried to shoot his wife, Jessica Setzer, while she was at the front door of the couple’s residence on South Carolina Drive. The felony charge can result in a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, as well as a fine of not more than $10,000. The interference charge is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $1,000.
The bond was originally set at $250,000 Monday using a probable cause affidavit, an amount Deputy Sweetwater County Attorney Teresa Thybo called “grossly inadequate” at Wednesday’s hearing. While Bradley does not have prior felony or misdemeanor convictions, a separate domestic violence case, related to an early May altercation where Thybo claims he broke his wife’s nose. That incident was argued down to a misdemeanor unlawful contact charge. Part of the stipulations of that case were that Bradley not have possession of firearms or consume alcohol. However, when officers searched the home, they discovered 11 firearms.
Thybo asked for a $1 million cash or surety bond, an amount Bradley called “outrageous” while appearing through video streamed from the Sweetwater County Detention Center.
“I need to take care of my kids and maintain my job,” he told Prokos.
Bradley argued he would lose his job and be unable to provide for his family if the bond was set at $1 million, calling the $250,000 amount more manageable. However, Thybo said his arrest required four Green River Police Department officers to remove him from his vehicle.
“He would not listen to any commands,” she said.
Prokos said the court’s concerns were that previous orders to not own firearms or consume alcohol were not listened to, saying bond conditions were not followed as part of his earlier case. He then set the bond at $900,000.
“Is that the best you can do for me, $900,000?” Bradley asked at the end of the hearing.
The incident
According to charging documents, Green River Police officers responded to an address on South Carolina Drive near the Setzer residence. Castle Rock Ambulance arrived and Jessica was assisted to the ambulance, bearing scratches and red marks on her face, but not wounded by a bullet. Officers also noticed glass falling from Jessica’s clothing onto the floor of the ambulance before she was taken to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County.
Speaking with Jeremy Wilde, who lives near the Setzer residence, officers were told he and his fiancé were watching TV at home when they heard a gunshot. Going to the window, Wilde said he saw two women, Jessica and her mother, Jeanette Carroll, running from the residence screaming. The two ran towards his house and Wilde opened the front door and allowed them into the home. After calling 911, Wilde said he saw a man leave the Setzer house, without a gun in his hand, leaving in a gray Ford F350.
Officers spoke with Jessica at the hospital, where she told them that she and Bradley have been married for about five years. On Aug. 25, they went to church at 10 a.m., and returned home, leaving the couple’s residence at 12:30 p.m., to style her mother’s hair. When she returned at about 2 p.m., she noticed Bradley had been drinking and the two got into a shoving altercation. She left the residence again and returned to her mother’s house. Jessica said she returned to her home a few hours later to pick up her son’s backpack with her mother and parked near the front of the residence. The front door was deadbolted and the keypad was not working, which indicated to Jessica the battery had been removed. The door handle had also been locked.
When Jessica knocked at the door, she said Bradley had told her to go away and later asked why she was at the home. After explaining she was there to pick up the backpack, she said Bradley covered the door with a green hoodie and herd him go up stairs as she pounded on the door. She said she heard him come down the stairs and move the hoodie, noticing he had a gun pointed at her through a glass design on the front door. She moved her face to the left and he allegedly pulled the trigger. She believed she was shot after the gun went off.
She described the gun to officers as a handgun, but did not know what type of gun he used. She reaffirmed that Bradley moved the hoodie before shooting at her. After the gun fired, she claimed her ears started ringing and ran to her mom, who was sitting in her vehicle. The two then ran to a neighbor’s house.
Jessica claimed he did not make any threats when talking with him through the door. However, she also reported he had threatened to kill her before, claiming he would kill her if she ever left him or “hooked up” with someone else. She also said she wasn’t aware of the guns in the house because of the bond provisions from his previous domestic violence incident prevented him from having them. While speaking with officers, Jessica was observed to have several cuts on the right side of her face and forehead. She also complained of glass being embedded in her eye.
At the home, officers observed the wooden door to be shut, with an oval portion in the middle where a glass design was installed. They noticed the glass was tempered, making it difficult to see into the house except for a clear portion of the design.
Officers obtained a search warrant for the house and found a spent 9mm round on the living room floor. Officers also located a gun safe upstairs in the master bedroom and opened it using a key Bradley’s father provided. Inside, they found five handguns and six rifles. In the collection, officers located a 9mm Springfield XD9 handgun with a magazine in it, which had 14 rounds in the 16-round magazine. When the slide was pulled back to clear the weapon, one round matching the previously found casing was ejected from the chamber. A shell was found a day later by officers searching the exterior of a neighboring home.
While officers searched the home, others were attempting to locate Bradley. An officer initiated a traffic stop on Bradley after he was seen driving near the intersection of Upland Way and West Teton Boulevard. The officer radioed for backup and after stopping Bradley’s vehicle, drew his sidearm and issued commands for Bradley to show his hands.
Bradley would begin to comply, but was observed pulling his hands back into the vehicle. Another officer at the scene also issued a command for Bradley to show his hands outside the vehicle and officers approached.
According to court documents, Bradley resisted arrest, failing to comply with commands to lay on the ground. He allegedly fought with officers by pulling his arms into himself in an attempt to break free from officers seating himself in the truck in a way that officers would not be able to gain control of him. Four officers were able to assist him to the ground and gain control of his body. He was then handcuffed and arrested.
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