John Fanning Denied Bond on Felony Charges

Gwinnett Magistrate Court Judge Angela Duncan denied bond for John Fanning on felony charges of aggravated assault and false imprisonment that resulted from a recent domestic violence incident involving his estranged wife Lesley Fanning.

During a hearing in the Magistrate Court Thursday (Oct. 25), Judge Duncan also bound Fanning over to Gwinnett Superior Court on the felony charges.

Fanning has been incarcerated in the Gwinnett County Detention Center since the Oct. 5 incident in which he allegedly kept Lesley Fanning from leaving their home in Dacula and beat her with a wooden table and its legs while their three children watched.

Fanning was arrested by Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department SWAT deputies in nearby woods after he fled the scene. Fanning was tracked through an ankle monitor.

Fanning, the son of former Gwinnett Commissioner Shirley Lasseter, was wearing the ankle monitor because in September he had pleaded guilty to bribery and drug trafficking charges in federal court in Atlanta and was sentenced to serve 57 months in prison. The U.S Marshal’s office has a hold on him.

In denying bond, Judge Duncan said that according to evidence in the case, “if they [the Fannings] confronted each other again, they would pose a risk to each other." Both suffered injuries in the altercation, according to their statements to Gwinnett County Police, which initially responded to the scene after Mrs. Fanning asked a school bus driver to call 911, and testimony by a Gwinnett Police officer at the bond hearing.

Fanning also had been charged with misdemeanor cruelty to children and misdemeanor obstructing a call for emergency assistance in the incident. Bond was previously set at $2,400 on each of those charges.

The bond hearing had been set for Oct. 17 but was postponed until Oct. 25.

The Fannings are in the process of obtaining a divorce and have been involved in a custody dispute over their children.

Lesley Fanning has temporary custody of the children. Jenny Limon, John Fanning’s sister, is seeking temporary custody after a Superior Court judge allowed her to intervene in the case during a hearing in Gwinnett Superior Court Oct. 17. Limon filed for temporary custody last Friday (Oct. 19).

Lasseter and Limon were present at John Fanning's bond hearing Thursday.

See also:

Fannings Both Face Charges From Previous Incident