Palmer judge grants bail to accused robber

Woman allegedly followed man home from pharmacy, cut him with a knife, tried to steal his medicine

February 19, 2006

MARY AMES\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - A Valley woman arrested in December for trying to steal pain medication from a 62-year-old man at knifepoint was in court last week, appearing three times before Palmer Superior Court Judge Eric Smith granted her bail.

Mandy Stevens, 29, is accused of following James Decker home from Wal-Mart pharmacy, pushing in his door, knocking him down, cutting him with a knife and trying to steal his prescription drugs the night of Dec. 30, according to Wasilla police.

Stevens faces four felony charges, including first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and third-degree assault.

Decker's startled cry and the sound of him hitting the floor brought neighbors to his aid. Two people struggled with Stevens and held her until police arrived, the report said.

At a bail hearing before Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler on Jan. 11, Stevens entered the courtroom smiling and waving, with an elastic bandage wrapped on her right arm. Judge Cutler wouldn't agree to bail until she had more information on any drug or alcohol treatment programs or mental health counseling Stevens had received for the past few years.

Thursday, at Stevens' second bail hearing, Palmer Assistant Public Defender Holly Handler requested a reduction in bail, presented Stevens' mother and sister as third-party custodians and said Stevens had been approved for ankle monitoring and SCRAM, a device that detects alcohol in the bloodstream. The only record of alcohol or drug treatment for Stevens that Handler knew about was last March, when Stevens voluntarily entered a detox center for five or six days, Handler told Judge Smith, the judge who had subsequently been assigned to the case.

Under questioning by District Attorney Roman Kalytiak, Stevens' mother and sister both said they had no idea Stevens used drugs or had a drug problem, although they both knew she had been in the detox center. They didn't know why she entered detox, they told the court.

The state opposed bail.

&#8220The third parties don't know or want to talk about drug use in the past year,” Kalytiak said. &#8220I think the court should be concerned with not having more background. This is an obvious public safety issue.”

Judge Smith requested the attorneys file their motions and the defense get records of alcohol treatment before he would make a bail decision.

Friday morning, Judge Smith reviewed Stevens' treatment records, set a trial date for May 22 and heard from the lawyers about bail.

&#8220In the record of treatment, they made a referral to LifeQuest,” Smith said. &#8220Didn't she go?”

According to Handler, Stevens went once, and LifeQuest referred her to the Salvation Army.

Assistant District Attorney Suzanne Powell told the court that Stevens' drug problem played a huge part in her actions, and the third parties weren't being forthcoming about the problems Stevens had admitted having for the past four years.

&#8220She was willing to pull a knife on an old man,” Powell said. &#8220This isn't a wise release.”

Handler said that as a lifelong resident with three children, Stevens wasn't a flight risk.

Judge Smith said he thought Stevens' mother and sister weren't hiding her drug use, but that they just didn't know. He released Stevens on a $30,000 bond, with ankle monitoring, SCRAM, no contact with any victims or witnesses or the two men Stevens alleged made her try to rob Decker, and requested she get a mental health evaluation.

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.