Former Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts is back in the news and once again and it's not good, at least for his wife.
62-year old Donna Betts was arrested on Tuesday at their home in Osprey, Florida and charged with 18 felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly pointing a rifle at teens and adults with the Sarasota Crew rowing team, who were practicing in the bay behind her home. The caller to 911 said she appeared to be drunk and the episode ended with her tossing the rifle into the water.
On Wednesday a Sarasota County judge ordered $180,000 bond for her during her first appearance at the Sarasota County Jail. At the hearing, her lawyer argued that she is "no danger to the community," adding that she "has no intent to do harm and the gun was not loaded." The judge called the incident "bizarre" and offered the bond with a long list of conditions, including no alcohol or drugs, she must participate in supervised pre-trial release and she would be placed on electronic monitoring. In addition, she cannot go in her backyard and cannot possess any firearms.
Like her husband, this is not her first run-in with the law. In 2012, she was charged with contempt, and in 2014 a civil injunction was issued against her and Dickey to prevent them from disturbing guests at Bay Preserve, which hosts weddings, elementary school classes and rowing practices. And, the Sarasota Crew, whose headquarters are adjacent to her property, have a restraining order against her.
She is scheduled to be arraigned on May 5th.
In January, Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks shot and killed himself in his Florida home.