Police are searching for an Ignacio man suspected of skipping town on $6,000 bail after running over his girlfriend with a car.
Case Fields, 31, has been missing for nearly three months after cutting off his GPS ankle monitoring bracelet Nov. 25 near Farmington.
He is charged with felony assault, vehicular assault, false imprisonment and reckless driving.
Janelle Bilyeu said she has undergone two surgeries and may need a third on her right leg, which was crushed Oct. 28 in the west 100 block of Mill Street in downtown Bayfield.
Fields and Bilyeu were arguing about money on the 20-mile drive from Ignacio to Bayfield. During the drive, Fields began driving erratically, speeding, swerving, and banging his head on the steering wheel of his 1999 Chevy Silverado, Bilyeu told the Bayfield Marshal’s Office.
After reaching downtown Bayfield, Fields pulled into a parking spot and jerked the vehicle to a stop. They continued to argue for about a minute, and as Bilyeu exited the truck, Fields put the vehicle in reverse and ran over her right leg with the right front tire, according to an arrest affidavit.
Fields said he was looking over his left shoulder while backing up and didn’t realize Bilyeu had opened the door to exit the vehicle. He stayed at the scene until police arrived.
Fields has a history of domestic violence.
He served about 3½ years of a six-year prison sentence for choking Bilyeu in 2011 in front of a Durango restaurant. He was recorded on a videophone inside the jail bragging to his father that he almost snapped her neck, according to statements made during his sentencing hearing.
In a previous interview, Bilyeu expressed regret about reconnecting with Fields.
“He’ll wind up killing me, and I just have to smarten up now,” she said three days after being run over by the car. “Matters of the heart are really hard to explain.”
Bilyeu said Wednesday she has a metal rod in her leg and about 12 screws. She remains in a wheelchair and has racked up more than $100,000 in medical bills, she said.
She’s upset La Plata County Magistrate Sarah Law let Fields out on $6,000 bail, especially given his history with domestic violence.
“I’m in fear a lot,” she said. “I never know if from out of nowhere a bullet is going to come or he’s going to come. I’m really scared of him.”
Deputy District Attorney Rich Schmittel asked for a $50,000 bail, but Law said the scheduled bail amount for a fifth-degree felony is typically $3,000. She doubled it in recognition of his violent history.
Bilyeu said she is hopeful Fields can be caught and brought to justice. A no-bail warrant has been issued for his arrest.
“I just don’t want another girl to have to go through what I did,” she said. “I want him found, and I want to protect other people.”
Anyone with information of Fields’ whereabouts can call dispatch at 385-2900 or the Bayfield Marshal’s Office at 884-9636.
shane@durangoherald.com
