Alabama Shakes drummer out of jail, released on bond

ATHENS, Ala. (WAFF) - A judge granted Alabama Shakes drummer Steve Johnson a bond of $26,500 on charges of child abuse, probation violations, and violation of a protection order.

Johnson’s defense requested today’s bond hearing.

Johnson has been in jail for over two weeks for not turning himself in for two pending warrants and allegedly violating probation conditions.

Johnson’s defense team say they nor Johnson were aware of the warrants.

“He’s not been on the run, he’s been trying to evade the police, he’s not been trying to do anything but go see his family, go to church, go to the grocery store, do normal things and then this just came out of the blue and took everybody by surprise,” said Johnson’s attorney Nick Lough.

Another of Johnson’s attorneys says a Facebook message is the reason Johnson is accused of violating the protection order.

The message was sent by Johnson to his son’s deactivated Facebook account, that account is jointly owned by the child’s mother. In the message, Johnson told his son how much he misses and loves him according to his attorneys.

“That message right there has caused Steve Johnson to sit in jail for the last 15 days.” said Johnson’s attorney Marcus Helstowski.

Johnson is also facing a charge of willful abuse of a child.

“This is not over, there’s a lot more to this. This was just one hearing today.” said Lough.

Johnson’s defense team filed a motion asking for a more definite indictment to be issued. According to court documents, “the Defendant is not informed of the nature and cause of the accusation as it is unclear where the alleged child abuse took place, the date and time of the alleged offense, or the manner in which the Defendant allegedly abused the alleged victim.”

An arraignment for that charge is set for April 29th.

A trial for Johnson’s other charges is set for May 19th.

Johnson is pleading not guilty for all charges.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Our report has been updated to reflect April 29th as the scheduled arraignment date.

Copyright 2021 WAFF. All rights reserved.