Charged with attempted murder, woman allegedly conspired to lock, erase cell phone

Kali Annabelle Bailey

The Heiskell woman who was charged with attempted murder after she allegedly shot into an occupied vehicle in Oak Ridge on May 6 is now accused of conspiring with her grandmother and one of the victims to lock or erase her cell phone, which is being held in evidence at the Oak Ridge Police Department.

After the shooting, Kali Annabelle Bailey, 20, was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of reckless endangerment.

New charges related to the alleged attempt to lock or erase her cell phone were filed Monday. The charges are criminal conspiracy to tamper with evidence, attempted tampering with evidence, and solicitation of tampering with evidence. Like the original charges, they are all felony charges.

Bailey’s bond on the original charges had been set at $250,000. Bond on the new charges is $25,000.

Bailey’s alleged co-conspirators, Becky A. Bell of Heiskell and Seth M. Davis of Oak Ridge, have also been charged. Bell is Bailey’s grandmother, and Davis is a victim of the alleged shooting, according to court records.

Becky A. Bell

Affidavits filed in the case said Bailey called Bell, her grandmother, from the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on May 9, three days after the alleged shooting, and gave Bell her Apple ID information. Bailey asked Bell to give the information to Davis, one of the two alleged victims, and have Davis lock or erase the cell phone, which is being held by the ORPD, according to the affidavits.

“Bell agreed to do this,” the affidavits said.

Then, a second call was made that same day, this time to Davis, the affidavits said.

“During this call, the defendant told Seth Davis to get her Apple ID (information) from Becky Bell and to erase her phone,” the affidavits said. “Davis agreed to do this.”

The affidavits said Davis knew and had received the Apple identification information from Bell before the May 9 call with Bailey.

The affidavits were filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge by Seventh Judicial District Crime Task Force Investigator Daniel Freytag. Affidavits are sworn narratives attached to arrest warrants.

Freytag said the calls showed that Bailey conspired with Bell and Davis to attempt to tamper with evidence by trying to alter or delete information on Bailey’s cell phone in order to prevent law enforcement from using it against her in criminal proceedings. The affidavits said Bell knew that Bailey, her granddaughter, had been arrested on several felony charges before she allegedly solicited Davis to try to tamper with the cell phone evidence, and Davis also knew that Bailey had been arrested on several felony charges.

It’s not clear what is on the cell phone that Bailey wanted to delete or lock. It’s also not clear if there was a plan to try to lock or delete the cell phone remotely, or if the defendants were able to lock or delete the phone.

Seth M. Davis

Bell and Davis were arrested before a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge on Tuesday afternoon.

Bell, 60, has been charged with felony counts of criminal conspiracy to tamper with evidence, attempted tampering with evidence, solicitation to tamper with evidence, and accessory after the fact. Her bond has been set at $30,000, and she was released from the Anderson County Detention Facility several hours after her arrest on Tuesday.

Davis, 22, has been charged with felony counts of criminal conspiracy to tamper with evidence, attempted tampering with evidence, and accessory after the fact. His bond was set at $25,000, and he was released from the Anderson County Detention Facility several hours after his arrest on Tuesday.

It’s not clear why Davis might have been trying to help Bailey, as authorities allege. Warrants filed earlier this month, after the May 6 shooting, said a bullet path in the vehicle grazed the driver’s seat, very close to the head and shoulder area of Davis.

Authorities have said Bailey had threatened to shoot one of the two people in the vehicle, female passenger Bailee D. Bolden of Oak Ridge, several months before the alleged May 6 shooting. And Bailey had reportedly tried to consistently argue with Bolden about her relationship with Davis, according to earlier affidavits.

Bolden was hit with glass fragments from a windshield in the May 6 shooting, the ORPD said.

Affidavits said Bailey and Davis had a prior relationship, but are not currently in a relationship.

The preliminary hearing, which allows a judge to determine whether there is probable cause to send charges to a grand jury, did not proceed after the arrests of Bell and Davis inside the courthouse on Tuesday. A status hearing has been scheduled for Bailey at 9 a.m. May 29. She remained jailed in the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Thursday afternoon.