SAN ANTONIO — A day after a Bexar County judge slashed his total bonds from $1 million to $100,000, 65-year-old James Cotter was released from jail.
Cotter allegedly helped hide Brad Simpson's AK-47 just before he was arrested in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Suzanne, last month. Brad Simpson's longtime business associate, Cotter faces tampering with evidence and prohibited weapons charges after authorities searched his home on Oct. 8 and found the gun in the wall.
The firearm had a string attached to its sight that would allow it to be retrieved "out of the void" in the wall, according to the documents. Video provided by someone working with the investigation appeared to show the same gun in a vault in the Simpsons' home, but when authorities searched the home on Oct. 9, the gun was "missing from the same location that it was observed in the video."
Cotter's attorneys argued earlier this week that the extent of his bonds was "unconstitutional," requesting that they be lowered to $50,000.
County officials said Cotter was released around 3:25 p.m. Friday after posting bond on his charges. He is required to wear a GPS monitor and can't own firearms, court records say.
Brad Simpson, jailed for weeks on a slew of charges, had his most serious charge filed against him Thursday—that of murder, upping his total bonds to $5 million. But even after a news conference with various officials on Friday, law enforcement still haven't shared what developments in their investigation led them to file the charge.
Instead, officials said they're still looking for signs of what happened to Suzanne when she went missing from her Olmos Park neighborhood on Oct. 6. Even without evidence, however, they confirmed she is dead.
"We realize this does not bring closure to Suzanne's family, but we hope this will allow them to enter the next phase of their grieving process with more clarity," Olmos Park Police Chief Fidel Villegas said.
