HOUSTON — Lee Gilley, charged with capital murder in connection with the death of his pregnant wife, removed a court-ordered ankle monitor and traveled to Italy, where he remains in custody. He has filed an application for asylum in Italy.
Pretrial officials received an alert on May 1 at approximately 9:13 p.m. indicating that Gilley had tampered with or removed his ankle monitor. Officials attempted to contact Gilley after the alert was received, and a bond violation report was filed on May 4. The Department of Justice and Harris County are coordinating efforts for Gilley's return to face charges.
Legal analyst Carmen Roe addressed broader concerns regarding the monitoring systems. "There's actually a lot of criticism out in the community about ankle monitors and how effective they are." Roe said.
Approximately 120 defendants charged with murder or capital murder were being monitored with ankle tracking devices in Harris County as of May 5. Two case managers were assigned to oversee these particular defendants. Across the county, nearly 2,000 defendants use ankle tracking devices at any given time. Harris County pays Sentinel Offender Services approximately $13 million for electronic monitoring services. Roe said, "I do think that this case shined a light on the canvas regarding loopholes that exist in the system."