Emotional courtroom as community gathers for Bond’s preliminary hearing
As Bond appeared on the courtroom’s Zoom screen from the jail, members of the crowd held up signs in his view. The courtroom display showed both Bond and those in attendance.
GLASGOW, Ky. — A Barren County courtroom was filled with supporters wearing shirts and holding signs in honor of Ava Woodcock and her unborn child, Neveah, who were killed last Monday in a shooting along Cleveland Avenue.
Brandon L. Bond, 24, appeared via Zoom in Barren District Court for a preliminary hearing, where prosecutors and the Glasgow Police Department outlined details of the April 6 shooting.
As Bond appeared on the courtroom’s Zoom screen from the jail, members of the crowd held up signs in his view. The courtroom display showed both Bond and those in attendance.
One sign featured a small handprint and footprint, appearing to represent a newborn child. Another displayed an image of Woodcock with angelic wings, holding her swaddled child in the clouds, while a smaller child looked on, representing her surviving young daughter.
A preliminary hearing allows a judge to determine whether probable cause exists to move a case forward to a grand jury, which then decides whether to issue an indictment.
Glasgow Police Detective Brian Starnes testified during the hearing alongside Commonwealth’s Attorney John Gardner.
Law enforcement responded to the area near Annie's Family Kitchen in the 1100 block of Cleveland Avenue for a possible shooting. Officers arrived and began searching for the suspect, later identified as Bond.
He was eventually found in a wooded area behind a nearby recycling business, where Officer Colton Riley and Barren County Sheriff’s Deputy James Duff apprehended him.
Bond was shirtless and wearing shorts at the time of his arrest, Starnes said.
Detective Allen Ward later located a semiautomatic Taurus 9mm pistol “in close proximity” to where Bond was taken into custody.
The weapon, identified as a Taurus G2 handgun, had a live round in the chamber and two magazines loaded with multiple rounds. Bond’s purple T-shirt was also recovered nearby.
Bond was transported to T.J. Samson Hospital, where he was medically cleared before being taken to the Barren County Detention Center.
Woodcock was also taken to T.J. Samson Hospital and later flown to the University of Louisville Hospital. Starnes said hospital officials confirmed she was pregnant through a blood test.
Police spoke with “numerous” people in the area following the shooting, Starnes said. He confirmed the information they shared helped officers positively identify Bond as the alleged shooter. No other details were shared from the interviews.
On April 8, the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office notified Starnes that Woodcock and the unborn child had died. A medical examiner’s report is pending, he said.
Brennan Crain
Bond was initially charged with attempted murder, attempted fetal homicide and fleeing or evading police. Two of those charges have since been amended to murder and fetal homicide.
During cross-examination, a public defender representing Bond asked whether Woodcock made any statements to police.
“Not to me, she did not,” Starnes said.
Starnes also confirmed that no one else was inside the vehicle with Woodcock at the time of the shooting and that Bond was alone.
Bond was apprehended about 30 minutes after the initial call, at approximately 3:46 p.m.
Starnes said Bond did not make any statements immediately following his arrest and was not interviewed right away. Starnes went to the jail a few days later, but Bond said he wanted his attorney present for an interview.
He confirmed he has not been able to speak with Bond.
Judge Gabe Pendleton waived the case to the grand jury, meaning Bond will not return to court unless an indictment is issued. If no indictment is returned, he will be released from jail, where he remains held on a $2 million bond.
