Attorney Tim Dooley said he planned to file documents on Wednesday asking for a federal bail review for North Pole resident Coleman Barney, who is being held without bond. If the move is successful, the 36-year-old electrician hopes he can gather enough money to get out of jail, Dooley said.
Barney convinced state Superior Court Judge David C. Stewart on Friday to drop his bail on state murder and kidnapping conspiracy charges from $2 million to $100,000.
Dooley said relatives and supporters have scraped together enough money to pay the bond.
Dozens of relatives, friends and church members sent letters to the court requesting a lower bail for Barney. His wife, Rachel, gave birth to the couple's fifth child Friday.
Barney remains imprisoned, however, because he also is charged with federal weapons violations.
“If it was just the state charges — which are more serious than the federal charges, I should add — he’d be out,” Dooley said.
Barney is one of five local defendants with ties to the Alaska Peacemakers Militia who are accused of concocting an elaborate plot they dubbed “241.” That effort, which was reportedly discussed during hundreds of hours of secret FBI recordings, involved a conspiracy to kill two Alaska State Troopers or state judges anytime a militia member was arrested or killed by authorities.
Prosecutors say the plot was concocted to protect Schaeffer Cox, the militia leader who was a fugitive last February for failing to appear at trial in February on misdemeanor weapons charges. Coleman and Rachel Barney also are charged with harboring Cox as he hid from authorities.
Contact staff writer Jeff Richardson at 459-7518.
Now we see a little change in the bail for Barney. What we we read of next week?
What church has members that would bail out attempted murderers?
Ummmm snowedin
No attempt to murder was made by those charged. Sooo, they are not attempted murderers. Talk has never killed anyone.
Not only are you snowed in... you have a bad case of brain freeze.