By Linhchi Nguyen
SACRAMENTO – A defendant who allegedly assaulted her former partner with a car and trashed his home won’t be released without bail, after a hearing here in Sacramento County Superior Court Wednesday.
Judge Scott L. Tedmon refused to release defendant LeTrae Frazier from custody—and set bail at $50,000—after hearing that she allegedly assaulted a victim and may pose a danger to him and their child they have together.
According to Deputy District Attorney Rona Maria Filippini, Frazier got into an argument with the victim, who did not want Frazier to be with their child when she was taking cocaine. The victim then took the child to his brother’s house.
So, when Frazier saw the alleged victim on Nov. 1, she allegedly “drove her vehicle towards him,” as he was standing in the driveway.
“The victim had to take a large side step to get out of the way and not get hit by her car,” Filippini explained. The victim then got into his car and left the scene, but Frazier followed for about 15 minutes.
“The defendant purposely hit the back of the victim’s car, swerved, and then struck the car again,” said Filippini. As this was happening, Frazier had two children and another passenger inside her car. The victim also thought that Frazier may have been under the influence.
After that, the victim quickly headed toward the California Highway Patrol station to make a report. In response, the officers arrived at the victim’s home to find furniture thrown upside down, clothes and 
debris scattered across the floor, and the TV fallen to the ground—all of which was allegedly caused by Frazier.
The officers also happened to spot the defendant’s white car parked in the parking lot of the apartment complex. Upon searching the vehicle, they came across a brown bag with missing items from the victim’s home.
“There’s no physical injury. It’s just damage to the car and the victim’s home,” Filippini concluded.
Despite this fact, Frazier’s private defense attorney, Matthew Martinez, requested the court to modify her custody status. “I know she got a level four,” Martinez admitted. “But she does have a residence. She has another child she needs to take care of, [and] she got the opportunity for employment as an in-home caregiver.”
He added that “she would be obviously amenable to whatever restrictions the court would impose on her. But she obviously doesn’t want to lose her housing, and she does need to get back for her other child.”
However, Filippini mentioned that she reached out to the victim in the morning, and he explicitly expressed feeling fearful for the safety of his son and himself. “The defendant has been doing cocaine and it’s not a safe environment,” she quoted the victim.
The victim also feared the defendant would bring her family members, who are engaged in criminal activity, to his house. Rather, he wishes for Frazier to get drug testing and help, the DDA said.
In reviewing her file, Judge Tedmon noted that Frazier had past convictions for felony assault (2010) and a drug conviction (2011). Martinez assured the judge that Frazier has “successfully completed a DUJ, and she also completed the expungement process for the 2010 conviction.
Nonetheless, Judge Tedmon was hesitant to allow her release, claiming that he was concerned over any potential future violence by the defendant. “I’ll reduce bail,” he said. “But I’m not going to order release…given the potential violence.”
As a result, he reduced the bail to $50,000.
In response, Martinez asked for the parties to come back on another court date for further bail review. “[I] don’t know if there’s further information or if this is it,” he explained.
Filippini also wanted to push back the time for setting a preliminary hearing. Together, the attorneys settled on a date of Nov. 12. They will appear at 8:30 a.m.
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