With attempted murder charges pending, a Cortez man has been denied visitation with his daughter.
At a scheduled preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 7, public defender Sara Hildebrand requested that her client, Garrett “Ty” Baxstrom, 38, be allowed to visit his daughter. Baxstrom is charged with attempted murder and multiple assault charges in the alleged shooting of his common-law wife on Aug. 15.
Assistant District Attorney Sean Murray told Montezuma County Court Judge JenniLynn Lawrence that the alleged victim opposed the visitation request. He said the child was being held by the alleged victim during the attack, which occurred at the couple’s residence on the 8000 block of U.S. 160 just after 11 p.m. on the night in question.
“I have grave concerns for this child,” Lawrence said.
Stating probable cause was previously found to file charges against Baxstrom, Lawrence rejected the visitation request.
“These are extreme allegations involving both the mother and child,” Lawrence said.
Murray then asked the court to require the defendant to reapply for a court-appointed attorney, citing Baxstrom posted a $250,000 bond on Aug. 27. The court agreed with prosecutors, instructing Baxstrom to provide appropriate financial documents next week.
Hildebrand subsequently asked the court to modify the conditions of her client’s release, specifically requesting an alcohol-monitoring device be removed. Hildebrand said the ankle monitor was costing her client hundreds of dollars per month.
Citing the defendant had no positive test for alcohol since his release from the Montezuma County jail, Lawrence agreed to remove the ankle monitor, but she also instructed Baxstrom to submit to random alcohol testing.
At Murray’s request, Wednesday’s preliminary hearing was subsequently continued until Nov. 18. Prosecutors said new evidence had surfaced, and they needed additional time to file amended charges. Baxstrom agreed to waive his right to a speedy preliminary hearing.
Hildebrand also requested the court to modify bond conditions that would enable her client to leave the state in order to maintain family rental property. Lawrence wasn’t opposed, but she demanded consent from the bondsman.
The court also set a date and time for the alleged victim to retrieve personal belongings from Baxstrom’s home, ordering the defendant to stay way from the residence on the agreed upon date.
Baxstrom is currently charged with one count of attempted murder as a crime of violence, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, a count of assault to recklessly cause injury and a count of child abuse stemming from the domestic violence incident.
According to a Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office report, Baxstrom is suspected of firing three shotgun blasts at his common law wife after beating her nearly unconscious.
Authorities found the alleged victim, a 37-year-old woman, covered in blood and dirt. She reportedly suffered gun shot injuries to her right arm and right thigh and had multiple lacerations to her face, head, arms and back.
“(Baxstrom) tried to kill me,” the alleged victim told a sheriff’s deputy on the night in question.
After the alleged attack, authorities noted the woman hid in a ditch for approximately two hours before walking to a neighbor’s home to call 911.
According to investigators, the alleged victim was treated and released from Southwest Memorial Hospital on the night in question.
