Despite the shooting, Fort Lauderdale Chief Frank Adderley urged leniency for his wife, who is now free on bond.
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By Adam H. Beasley, Jennifer Lebovich and Todd Wright
Miami Herald
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A day after a bullet came within inches of striking Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley as he lay in bed, the chief begged a Broward judge to grant leniency to the shooter -- his wife.
Eleanor Adderley, 45, told police she was only trying to ''scare’’ her husband when she fired at him three times, once in the bed and twice as he ran for cover.
She was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and firing into a dwelling, both felonies.
At a rare late-afternoon bond hearing Wednesday, attorneys presented a letter from Frank Adderley stating he did not want his wife to be punished. Circuit Judge Geoffrey Cohen set bond at $25,000 -- which the chief offered to pay through his wife’s lawyer. She was released from jail Wednesday night.
''Chief Adderley is very supportive of his wife, and they are going to counseling and going to proceed to mend their family,’' said Robert Buschel, Eleanor Adderley’s attorney. ``Considering the circumstances, she is holding up well. She’s concerned about her family and her husband.’'
Prosecutors often have trouble pursuing domestic violence cases because the victims refuse to cooperate in any effort to jail a loved one.
Adderley’s plea for mercy came less than 24 hours after his wife chased him out of their Plantation home, gun blazing, amid a disagreement.
According to the arrest report and other police accounts, here’s what happened:
Frank Adderley was in bed some time after 10 p.m. Tuesday when his wife aimed a Beretta 9mm in his direction and squeezed off a shot that missed him by inches.
As he dashed out of the house through the rear porch, she fired a second time -- and missed again. At least one more round was fired outside the home. Frank Adderley ran to a neighbor, who persuaded Eleanor Adderley to put down the gun.
After police arrived, Adderley admitted to opening fire but said she was ``only trying to scare him . . . and did not intend to cause any injury.’'
It wasn’t clear if the chief was fired at with his own service weapon.
The Adderleys, who were married in Broward County in 1991, have a teenage son. The police report says a third family member was home during the gunfire but doesn’t say if it was their son.
Adderley did not show up at his office Wednesday but released a prepared statement through the police department: ``Despite these trying times, I support and stand by my wife. I love her very much and will do everything possible to get her whatever assistance she needs during this difficult time.’'
Buschel said he and prosecutors will meet in the next 30 days to try to resolve the matter outside the courtroom. Buschel said Chief Adderley ''does not want this to go to a public jury trial’’ and has made his wishes known to prosecutors.
In May, Adderley replaced Bruce G. Roberts, who had served as police chief since 2001.
''He’s been great and faithful to the city for many years,’' Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle said of the new chief. ``I wouldn’t want to judge him on one incident where we really don’t know what the facts are.’'
Until the facts get sorted out and the charges resolved, Cohen ruled the two are not to have any contact or be within a mile of each other. Eleanor Adderley will live in the Plantation home, and her husband will stay elsewhere.
The son will live with relatives.
No one answered the door Wednesday afternoon at the family’s single-family home.
The accused did not speak during the five-minute hearing but looked disheveled. She was ordered to undergo a psychological exam and wear an ankle bracelet. The police report does not say what they were arguing about.
Copyright 2008 Miami Herald
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