Gerald Lee Hogue, a Missouri man facing a long list of felony charges in Perry County, has again failed to appear for his scheduled jury trial. In response, Circuit Judge Donald McMillan has ordered a bond forfeiture hearing for August 14.
Hogue was scheduled to stand trial on July 22 for charges including conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and multiple counts of discharging a firearm into a building and a vehicle. The charges stem from a 2021 shooting in Marion. Authorities at the time described Hogue and two co-defendants as out-of-state “hit men.”
According to court records, Hogue was initially arrested on April 7, 2021, after leading law enforcement on a nearly ten-mile chase through Perry County.
He was held on a bond of $315,000 but made bond nearly two years later, on March 15, 2023, with the help of a professional bail company, Scott Bonds Court Bail Bond LLC. The bonds, totaling $351,000, were approved by Judge Billy Jones and signed in both circuit and district court on that date.
Since his release, Hogue has missed multiple court dates. His attorney previously submitted medical documents claiming Hogue had been treated for chronic respiratory failure and was scheduled for surgery. McMillan denied the defense’s most recent request to delay trial and issued another bench warrant when Hogue failed to appear on July 22.
On July 21, McMillan ordered a formal bond forfeiture hearing, writing that the case is “set for Bond Forfeiture against all sureties and/or bonding companies for forfeit of the bond set in this case and Defendant’s FTA [failure to appear] status.”
When a defendant “jumps” bond, the bonding company or individual surety is typically required to pay the full amount of the bond to the court unless the defendant is returned to custody within a set period of time. In this case, the company that posted Hogue’s bond—Scott Bonds Court Bail Bond LLC—has been ordered to appear before the court in August. If the court finds that the bond should be forfeited, the company could be liable for the full $351,000.
Hogue remains at large. According to earlier filings, he left Alabama after bonding out and returned to Missouri.
