By Walter Geiger Alleged baby beater Linda Jessica Gunn was denied a reduction of her $250,000 cash bond in Lamar superior court March 25. Gunn, 20, allegedly bashed her three-month-old daughter against a headboard multiple times when she would not go to sleep, breaking the child’s leg and causing multiple other injuries. She is charged with two counts aggravated assault and multiple counts of cruelty to children. The case developed March 4, 2014 after Gunn took the child to a doctor with a broken femur and medical personnel discovered multiple other injuries indicating a pattern of abuse. In her most recent court appearance, Gunn appeared before Judge Tommy Wilson with her attorney J. Lansing Kimmey. Kimmey argued his client was a candidate for a reasonable bond and suggested the amount be $50,000. ”Her grandmother is here and is willing to let my client live with her in Acworth. Her aunt is here and can get her a job as a waitress or something. Her family has been here three generations so she will be back for any hearings. Her baby was taken by the state so she will not be around any children,” Kimmey suggested. District attorney Richard Milam countered that the child, Victoria Gunn, had been “brutally mistreated”. ”She broke her femur which is the largest bone in the leg. The victim was only three months old and she was already pregnant again. She has a high probability of getting pregnant yet again and she just does not need to be around children,” Milam argued. Kimmey noted his client has “IQ issues” and that the state had not yet done a mental evaluation ordered by Judge Wilson months ago. Judge Wilson was agitated with that development and noted he could not guarantee the evaluation would be done if Gunn were free on bond. A friend of Gunn’s family protested loudly from the audience and was ordered to the bench by the judge. “I run this courtroom,” Judge Wilson admonished him. The judge went on to explain that he was not frustrated with the man but with the situation. He said that mental evaluations are clogging up the system because lawyers are asking for needless tests in cases where they are not required as a delaying tactic. ”I can’t do anything about the mental evaluation. I can’t go up there to Atlanta and make them do it but I can call up there and raise hell and that’s exactly what I am fixing to do,” Judge Wilson said. A member of his staff made several calls and was assured the evaluation would be done within a week. In the meantime, Gunn will remain in the Lamar County jail. Since her arrest, the child she was pregnant with at the time of the alleged crime has been born. Both her children are in protective custody.
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