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Bail was granted for a Williamsport woman accused of helping Troy Bailey Sr., 57, attempt to cover up his involvement in a Jan. 11 double homicide after a deal was struck between prosecutors and defense attorney Brian Ulmer, Lycoming County Judge Eric Linhardt announced at a scheduled hearing late Friday afternoon.
Sandy Perez, 43, last known address of 1647 Catherine St., will be released on $75,000 intensive supervised bail once she finds a suitable residence, the judge said.
Perez will be released on unsecured bail, meaning she does not have to post any funds before being released.
As part of her release, Perez will be required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and will be barred from having any contact with the victim's families.
The bail department will also be directed to set up "exclusion zones" around the homes and workplaces of the victim's families, where Perez will not be permitted, Linhardt said.
The order bans her from possessing any firearms or deadly weapons.
Staying silent through most of the proceedings, Perez asked the judge if she was allowed to visit the home of her son.
That is a decision that will be taken up by her bail supervisor, Linhardt said.
No date for her release was given at the hearing.
Following his alleged murder of Alisha Seese and Ronald Dailey Jr., Bailey texted Perez to say he was on his way to her apartment, according to court testimony.
"Sandy, I'm on my way to you so I will call you when I get up there so I can give this to you," Bailey's text allegedly said.
Surveillance video from the Michael Ross apartment complex displayed during a preliminary hearing last week showed Bailey arriving 10 minutes later and handing a rectangular bag to Perez, which authorities say contained the murder weapon.
Police allege that Bailey informed Perez of his plans for the murder and dropped off evidence to her during a three-minute conversation between the two shortly before 5:15 p.m. on Jan. 11.
On Jan. 15, Bailey allegedly used another inmate's phone ID to call Perez, repeatedly instructing her to immediately dispose of the bag he had given her, according to a prison phone call played in court.
Bailey told Perez that he was incarcerated on a PFA violation, saying Seese and "some guy" had been murdered, but that he didn't know anything about it.
Perez told Bailey that she had been contacted by authorities but had denied knowing Seese.
"I told them to have a blessed day, hung up and blocked the numbers," she can be heard saying.
Shortly after the phone call, Perez was caught on the apartment complex's surveillance cameras taking a trash bag to a trash bin before returning to take it out, then leaving the complex in her vehicle with a diaper bag and another bag consistent with the one Bailey gave her, according to court testimony.
Perez gave several conflicting stories as to where she disposed of the bag, police said.
Neither the murder weapon or Seese's phone have been located.
Representing Perez at the preliminary hearing, defense Attorney Jeremy-Evan Alva argued that Perez should be granted bail, citing a lack of extraordinary circumstances.
The commonwealth has not displayed Perez to be a threat to the community, he said.
Additionally, Alva stressed the need for Perez to be able to attend to her seven kids, three of whom have special needs, he said.
Continuing to hold Perez without bail was unconstitutional, Alva argued.
That hearing quickly turned tense when District Judge Aaron Biichle ruled that the court of common pleas was better suited to take up the issue of bail, proceeding to deny any change in bail conditions.
"You can't do that. It's unconstitutional," Alva protested, prompting Biichle to repeatedly tell him to sit down.
"Sign the papers and provide them to the court. I'm done" Biichle shot back.
It is unknown at this time why Alva is no longer defending Perez.
Perez faces charges of criminal conspiracy in kidnapping, receiving stolen property, obstruction of justice, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, making false reports to law enforcement and hindering apprehension or prosecution.
A trial date has not been set at this time.