Neil Peter Meyer in court earlier
An attorney said he has been in contact with his client who absconded in a case in which he is charged with vehicular homicide.
Attorney Johnny Houston said he expects Neil Peter Meyer to turn himself in soon. He said Meyer, who is from Morristown, Tn., has an unreliable vehicle that sometimes causes him to be late for court.
Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman in July ordered the arrest of Meyer and set a $1 million bond when he did not show up then.
Judge Steelman had earlier lowered the bond for Meyer, who police say left town after a motorcycle wreck in which his girlfriend was killed.
In May 2023, he reduced Meyer's bond from $501,500 to $100,000.
At the time, Meyer was placed on a GPS monitoring device and told he must use an ignition interlock device. He was to be under pre-trial services supervision and undergo drug testing.
Attorney Houston at the time said a $500,000 bond was much higher than most other vehicular homicide cases, including the one in which six Woodmore Elementary children were killed and the recent wreck at Volkswagen in which one employee was killed and another critically injury.
The attorney noted that Meyer had been in jail for seven months without the case ever having been taken to the Grand Jury.
It was also conceded by prosecutor Jason Demastus that the state could not prove whether or not Meyer was intoxicated at the time of the early morning wreck on Fairview Road. Since he left the scene, his blood was not tested.
The prosecutor, who said he was new to the case, said he would personally take it before the Grand Jury within a month.
Meyer also faces charges in Hamblen County. Judge Steelman noted that he is facing 3-6 years if convicted of the local case, but faces 8-12 years on meth charges in Hamblen County.
Meyer had moved to Chattanooga from his longtime home at Fresno, Calif., with the girlfriend, 39-year-old Kristie Leigh Hudson, and her three children. Around the same time, Meyer's wife left California with their three children and moved to Morristown, Tn.
The fatal incident happened Sept. 10, 2022, and Meyer was arrested in Morristown three days later. It was testified that the drug charges were brought after Meyer's wife telephoned police saying drugs were found at her house in a cooler and they were not hers. The wife has since moved back to California with the children.
Meyer testified at an earlier bond hearing that he does not do drugs. Prosecutor Demascus said Meyer had DUI convictions in California in 2008 and 2013.
Meyer said he had been working in Chattanooga as a foreman for a group laying flooring. He said he was in the process of setting up his own flooring and pressure washing firm.
Police said Meyer was driving a motorcycle with his girlfriend as a passenger when he hit a guardrail and wrecked. He then left the scene.
Traffic investigator Steven York said the body of Ms. Hudson was spotted by a passerby lying on a lawn of a residence around 7:30 that morning.
He said evidence showed that a motorcycle had wrecked on a curve during rainy weather and had become wedged beyond the guardrail.
The officer said the girlfriend suffered a serious leg injury when the motorcycle hit the guardrail, but the medical examiner said she had died from a broken neck after being thrown 30 feet from the impact with the guardrail.
Investigator York said evidence also showed that Meyer had apparently walked to the nearby home of Ms. Hudson on Harbor View Drive where he got his Dodge Ram truck and returned to the wreck scene. He said tire tracks were found there matching those on his truck. Two motorcycle helmets were at the wreck scene.
The officer said the damaged motorcycle was later found at a cul de sac near the Hudson residence. He said the body of Ms. Hudson was moved to some 50 feet from the collision site.
It was testified that Meyer took with him from the house a photo of him and Ms. Hudson that had been hanging on the wall.
At an earlier hearing, it was testified that Meyer sent a text to the 16-year-old daughter of Ms. Hudson, saying he "admitted to blacking out and not sure what happened." He said he "hit his head so hard and didn't remember much." He said he "tried to pick her up, but his legs, lungs, abs, ribs were smashed and he so sorry the road was wet and had no traction."
It was also testified at the preliminary hearing that while in California Meyer was part of the 5 Diamonds Motorcycle Gang.