Source: Bravewords.com

Bail was slashed from $3 million to $2 million for the lead singer of a San Diego-based heavy-metal band, who is accused of trying to arrange the murder of his estranged wife.

At the conclusion of a 90-minute hearing at the Vista Courthouse Friday, AS I LAY DYING front man Timothy Peter Lambesis, 32, had his bail lowered by Judge David Berry.

The courtroom where Friday’s hearing took place seats 33 people, dozens of supporters from both sides who showed up were turned away because there was no room for them.

Tom Warwick, the new attorney for Lambesis says his client was mentally unstable due to steroid use, when he allegedly tried to hire an undercover detective to kill his wife.

Friday, he said Lambesis tried to hire a hit man when he was mentally unstable due to steroid use.

He said Lambesis was a good Christian man until he got involved with bodybuilding, which is when the steroid use began.

He alleges that Lambesis tried to hire a hit man while he was getting off the drug and was in a so-called roid rage.

Lambesis was arrested in Oceanside last week after Sheriff’s deputies say he gave an undercover detective an envelope containing $1,000, pictures of his wife, her address, gate code and dates when the “hit” could take place.

The prosecuting attorney says Lambesis knew what he was doing.

While the defense wanted the bail lowered to $250,000, the judge lowered his $3 million bail to $2 million.

Watch the CBS8.com -tv report HERE.

Source: Bravewords.com

Dana Littlefield of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the lead singer of a successful Christian heavy-metal band told at least two people at a gym recently that he wanted to have his wife killed, a prosecutor said in court Thursday.

Timothy Lambesis, 32, of the band AS I LAY DYING, met with a person he believed was a hit man — but was actually an undercover detective — and handed him an envelope containing $1,000 cash, his wife’s address and the gate security codes. He told the agent he wanted his wife “gone,” said Deputy District Attorney Claudia Grasso.

This and other information led sheriff’s investigators to arrest Lambesis Tuesday in Oceanside. He pleaded not guilty in Vista Superior Court to a single count of solicitation for murder. He faces up to nine years in prison if convicted.

During the arraignment, Judge Martin Staven set Lambesis’ bail at $3 million, noting that the defendant has ties across the United States as well as outside the country. If he posts bail, the judge said, Lambesis will have to surrender his passport and wear a GPS device to monitor his whereabouts.

Staven also ordered the defendant to stay away from his wife, Meggan Lambesis, and their three children.

Defense attorney Anthony Salerno did not talk in detail about the allegations during the hearing, but said afterward that he believed his client may have been the victim of a setup.

“He did not intend to harm anybody,” the Los Angeles-based lawyer said.

Deputy District Attorney Claudia Grasso, who had asked for bail as high as $20 million, told the judge that the couple’s relationship suffered a major blow in August of last year when Tim Lambesis was on tour with his band. He sent an email to his wife saying he no longer loved her and did not want to be with her anymore.

He also wrote in the email that he no longer believed in God, the prosecutor said.

Further details, including a photo of Tim Lambesis in court, can be accessed at this location.

A video report courtesy of KFMB Channel 8 in San Diego, California can be viewed HERE.

Source: Bravewords.com

According to Billboard, divorce documents show the lead singer of heavy metal band AS I LAY DYING and the wife he allegedly tried to hire a hit man to kill had a mostly amicable split, and she expressed no fears for her safety.

But Meggan Lambesis, wife of Tim Lambesis, said in the court papers obtained by The Associated Press that recent changes in his behavior had her worried about his ability to care for their three adopted children.

Law enforcement officials said they arrested 32-year-old Tim Lambesis after he tried to hire an undercover detective he believed was a hit man. He is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, two days after he was taken into custody at a store in Oceanside.

Meggan Lambesis said her estranged husband, who is covered in tattoos and known for his growling voice, had become “obsessed with bodybuilding” and was distracted while with the children, often texting or talking on the phone. She noted he had fallen asleep while watching them at the beach and said they need a “stable parent” to help them adjust to their new life.

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.

She said he tours six months a year and had traveled across the country twice in one year to visit a girlfriend. She said he also had spent thousands of dollars on tattoos. Both had agreed to private mediation to discuss the children’s custody.

Read more at Billboard.

Yesterday (May 8th) As I Lay Dying issued the following statement:

“As we post this, the legal process is taking its course and we have no more information than you do. There are many unanswered questions, and the situation will become clearer in the coming days and weeks. We’ll keep you informed as best we can. Our thoughts right now are with Tim, his family, and with everyone else affected by this terrible situation – and with our fans, whom we love and draw strength from. Thank you for understanding, and as always, for your support of As I Lay Dying.”

Source: Blabbermouth.net

According to FOX 5 San Diego and Reuters, singer Tim Lambesis of San Diego metallers AS I LAY DYING was arrested for allegedly hiring someone to kill his estranged wife.

Lambesis, 32, was taken into custody without incident on Tuesday (May 7) around 2 p.m. at an Oceanside business, according to San Diego Sheriff’s Department.

He was charged with solicitation of another to commit murder of his wife, who resides in Encinitas.

The investigation began after Lambesis contacted an undercover detective on May 2 to kill his wife, according to deputies.

Jan Caldwell, spokeswoman for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, told U-T San Diego she could not release details about the investigation at the direction of the District Attorney’s Office, which will prosecute the case.

“The information came to us late last week,” she told Reuters. “We acted quickly on it. I believe that we averted a great tragedy.”

Lambesis was booked into the Vista Detention Facility. He is expected be arraigned on Wednesday or Thursday.

The musician’s wife, Meggan, reportedly filed for divorce on September 20, 2012 in Vista Superior Court, and the court record indicates at least one minor child was involved in the marriage.

The official San Diego Sheriff’s Department press release regarding Lambesis‘ arrest can be downloaded as a PDF file at this location. It can also be found at SDSheriff.net/press/.

Back in March 2009, Lambesis had to miss several shows on AS I LAY DYING‘s tour with LAMB OF GOD since he was finalizing the adoption process for a baby. The vocalist of the Grammy-nominated band told Noisecreep at the time, “It’s an amazing thing to become a father, but an honor like that is something that can never be timed perfectly. I’ve been in the process of adoption from Ethiopia for about a year now and it turns out that I will be able to take my son home in the first week of April.”

In a January 2013 interview with Loudwire, Lambesis was asked if his humanitarianism provides him with a source of lyrical inspiration. “Yes, it’s definitely a part of my life for me,” he replied. “My kids are adopted and I’ve visited their country; they’re from Ethiopia, and that was eye-opening to what the world is really like, at least a third of the world. I think that just influences my entire worldview. Even if I’m not necessarily writing a song about humanitarian work, I’m writing a song about what truly makes us happy in life, and those types of things that have been influenced by my experiences.”

AS I LAY DYING‘s sixth album, “Awakened”, sold around 28,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Image below: Official San Diego Sheriff’s Department press release regarding Lambesis‘ arrest

Photo credit: DirtJunior.com