Robert Petrick had been held on $100,000 bond for fraud charges, but at a bond hearing Tuesday, Judge Orlando Hudson reduced Petrick's bond to $50,000.
Petrick is accused of trying to cash three bogus checks totaling $48,000. Meanwhile, authorities are still investigating the disappearance of Petrick's wife, Janine Sutphen. Authorities said the fraud charges are connected to Sutphen's disappearance, but they would not say how.
When prosecutors said Petrick should be considered as a flight risk because he skipped a court appearance in Guilford County, defense attorneys countered that on the day Petrick was supposed to be in court, he was locked up in the Durham County jail.
Defense attorneys argued that Petrick's $100,000 bond is 10 times higher than a typical fraud case.
Hudson said that while he was concerned with Petrick's past convictions and his history of not appearing in court, he decided to reduce Petrick's bond.
Hudson also placed a hold on Petrick for 48 hours. Petrick is wanted in Guilford County for allegedly writing bad checks in 1999 and faces possible extradition there.
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