In May 2023, he reduced Meyer’s bail from $501,500 to $100,000.

The attorney noted that Meyer had been in prison for seven months without the case having been brought to the Grand Jury.

Prosecutor Jason Demastus also admitted that the state could not prove whether or not Meyer was intoxicated at the time of the early morning crash on Fairview Road. Since he left the scene, his blood has not been analyzed.

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 faces 3 to 6 years in prison if convicted in the local case, but faces 8 to 12 years on methamphetamine charges in Hamblen County.

Meyer had moved to Chattanooga from his former home in Fresno, California, with his girlfriend, Kristie Leigh Hudson, 39, and their three children. Around the same time, Meyer’s wife left California with their three children and moved to Morristown, Tennessee.

The fatal incident occurred on September 10, 2022, and Meyer was arrested in Morristown three days later. It was testified that the drug charges were filed after Meyer’s wife phoned police saying that drugs were found in their home in a cooler and that they were not hers. The wife has since returned to California with the children.

Meyer testified at a previous bond hearing that he does not use 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 that laid flooring. He said he was in the process of establishing his own flooring and pressure washing company.

Police said Meyer was riding a motorcycle with his girlfriend as a passenger when he hit a guardrail and crashed. Then he left the place.

Traffic investigator Steven York said Ms. Hudson’s body was seen by a passerby lying on the grass of a residence around 7:30 a.m.

He said evidence showed a motorcycle had crashed on a bend during rainy weather and became trapped 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 impact with the guardrail.

Investigator York said the evidence also showed that Meyer had apparently walked to Ms. Hudson’s nearby home on Harbor View Drive, where he took his Dodge Ram pickup truck and returned to the accident scene. He said tire tracks were found there that matched those of his truck. Two motorcycle helmets were found at the scene of the accident.

The officer said the damaged motorcycle was later found in a cul-de-sac near Hudson’s residence. He said Ms. Hudson’s body was moved about 50 feet from the scene of the collision.

It was testified that Meyer took a photograph of himself and Mrs. Hudson that had been hanging on the wall from the house.

At an earlier hearing, it was testified that Meyer sent a text message to Ms. Hudson’s 16-year-old daughter, saying that he “admitted to passing out and not being sure what happened.” He said he “hit his head so hard he didn’t remember much.” He said he “tried to pick her up, but her legs, lungs, abs and ribs were shattered and she was so sorry the road was wet and she had no traction.”

It was also testified at the preliminary hearing that, while in California, Meyer was part of the 5 Diamonds motorcycle gang.