According to the LA Times, earlier today at a court arraignment attended by his friends and fans, AS I LAY DYING singer Tim Lambesis pleaded not guilty to a charge of soliciting the murder of his estranged wife.
San Diego County Superior Court Judge Martin Staven set bail at $3 million. Once he is released from jail, Lambesis must wear a GPS monitor and stay away from his wife and their three children.
At the arraignment in Superior Court in Vista, a readiness hearing was set for June 10 and preliminary hearing for July 10. Lambesis was represented by defense attorney Anthony Salerno of Los Angeles.
As previously reported, Lambesis’ estranged wife, Meggan Lambesis, said in the court papers obtained by The Associated Press that her husband had fallen asleep while caring for the couple’s three children near a pool and had begun spending endless hours at a gym. He had also begun to spend thousands of dollars on tattoos, she said in the papers filed last fall.
Meggan didn’t express any concern in the documents for her own safety, however. Police say her husband tried to hire a hitman to kill her, but the person he approached was actually an undercover detective taking part in a sting operation set up following a tip to law enforcement last week.
The musician’s wife also said in court papers that Lambesis toured six months a year and had taken two last-minute trips in a month to see his then-girlfriend in Florida.
She said he owned two “high-end” Harley Davidson motorcycles, dined out for almost every meal and lived in a spacious suite at his parents’ $2 million home.
She asked the court to order an expert to examine their music-related businesses and other assets. She submitted a tax return showing the couple grossed $233,000 in 2010 but did not specify an amount she was seeking for spousal support.
The couple adopted the children — ages 4, 8 and 10 — from Ethiopia, and Tim Lambesis continued to see them for about 10 hours a week when he was not on tour, even though the couple was no longer living together, according to court documents.
As we all know, the bands latest record 'Awakened' was released last Fall via Metal Blade Records and is a much darker record then the band previous releases. The record was also released around the time in which Lambesis' wife filed for divorce. "On this record, I wasn’t purposefully trying to be negative, but I think sometimes we have to be honest with some of the darker and more difficult times of our lives to get back to that positivity", Lambesis is quoted as saying.
If found guilty, Tim could face up to 9 years in prison.
Upcoming AS I LAY DYING shows with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE:
- Thu/May-30: Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
- Fri/May-31: Austin, TX @ Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater
- Sat/Jun-01: Houston, TX @ House of Blues
- Mon/Jun-03: Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House Of Blues
- Tue/Jun-04: Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
- Thu/Jun-06: Richmond, VA @ The National
- Fri/Jun-07: Syracuse, NY @ F Shed at the Market
- Sat/Jun-08: Hampton Beach, NH @ Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
- Sun/Jun-09: Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
- Tue/Jun-11: New York, NY @ Best Buy Theater
- Wed/Jun-12: Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore - Silver Spring
- Sat/Jun-15: Guelph, ON @ Guelph Concert Theatre
- Sun/Jun-16: Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection
- Mon/Jun-17: Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts
- Tue/Jun-18: Sauget, IL @ Pop's Nightclub
- Thu/Jun-20: Denver, CO @ The Summit Music Hall
- Fri/Jun-21: Magna, UT @ The Great Salt Air
- Sat/Jun-22: Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
- Sun/Jun-23: Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee
- Tue/Jun-25: San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
- Thu/Jun-27: Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
- Fri/Jun-28: Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Concert House
- Sat/Jun-29: Billings, MT @ Shrine Auditorium
- Mon/Jul-01: Fargo, ND @ The Venue
- Tue/Jul-02: Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium
- Wed/Jul-03: Wichita, KS @ The Cotillion
- Fri/Jul-05: Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
- Sat/Jul-06: Cleveland, OH @ House Of Blues
- Sun/Jul-07: Pontiac, MI @ The Crofoot
- Mon/Jul-08: Joliet, IL @ Mojoes
Related links:
As I Lay Dying's official site
