A 22-year-old woman charged with intoxicated manslaughter lost her second bid in court to have bond set unless she can be moved to a locked-down treatment facility.
Kendall Batchelor is the daughter of local auto magnate Ken Batchelor.
For now, Kendall Batchelor will remain behind bars, but 451st state District Court Judge Kirsten Cohoon said that could change down the road if certain pre-trial conditions are met.
“I’m moving you on a fast track,” Cohoon said. “I’m going to get you out of jail one way or the other, but at this juncture I cannot.”
After testimony from Batchelor’s father – owner of Ken Batchelor Cadillac – and representatives from The Arbor rehabilitation facility, the judge denied a motion to grant bond.
She needs to be in a lockeddown treatment facility to avoid a flight risk, Cohoon indicated.
“I heard certain things from the doctor, and I would like to see great steps being taken in the interim to see that you are working towards getting some of that counseling while you are here,” Cohoon said. “Ms. Batchelor, I do believe you have a long life ahead, and you can be productive and healthy. You are going to get past this, but for the sake of the community and for your intent to return, I am not going to release you. The motion is denied.”
Batchelor was booked into Bexar County Jail June 6 from a hospital bed on a warrant out of Kendall County. The affidavit noted Batchelor had a blood-alcohol level of .166 – more than double the legal limit.
Investigators said she drove into oncoming traffic east of Boerne on Texas 46 June 2, and her vehicle hit Boerne resident David John Belter’s auto head-on. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Although Batchelor’s first arrest warrant was marked “no bond,” a Bexar County magistrate released Batchelor on $120,000 bail, records show. However, she returned behind bars two weeks later.
Batchelor was arrested again in Kendall County by deputies after a motion to revoke her bond was filed, records showed.
Batchelor ’s defense attorney, Louis Martinez, attempted to reinstate bond earlier this month but failed, with Cohoon at the time saying she was open to another hearing if a locked-down rehab facility was included.
However, testimony from an administrator and counselor at The Arbor – the facility sought by Martinez – showed there was a chance for flight risk because the building is not locked down.
Martinez told the court the post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and substance abuse disorder diagnosed by counselor Margo De La Garza showed Batchelor needed treatment.
However, Assistant District Attorney Manuel Cardenas’ questioning of witnesses indicated counseling could be offered in jail.
During testimony, Batchelor’s father confirmed he reported his daughter’s activity to law-enforcement agents after she withdrew $60,000 from his account while she was out on bond — he feared she might flee.
Since then, Ken Batchelor said he has closed all bank accounts in her name, removed her access to all his accounts and got back $59,000 of what she took.
When asked if he would offer his daughter any money if she were released to a facility, he said he’d given her about $100 a month for calls, adding they speak about twice daily, and said he’d only give her “what she might need to get by to eat. Or if she gets permission to go to a place for drugs and alcohol, I’d pay for that.”
Cardenas expressed concern Kendall Batchelor may have friends pick her up from the facility and about her access to large sums of cash. Martinez countered, saying the prosecution was profiling.
Cohoon did not accept Martinez’s argument.
“If my ruling does not change, my goalpost has not changed lines. This is not quite what we talked about,” Cohoon said, reminding Martinez she asked to hear about a locked-down treatment facility.
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