There’s been a curious update on Teen Mom OG star Amber Portwood’s domestic violence case, and thankfully it does not involve more horrific audio recordings.
According to court documents, the woman who posted Amber’s $2,000 bond submitted a request for a refund! The request was filed last Monday by an Indianapolis woman named Rhonda. I am unaware of how she is connected to Amber.
“I, Rhonda [redacted] am requesting that the court release the bond to me due to the fact that the money that I paid for the bond was income that [is] owed to me from the Defendant, Amber Portwood,” the hand-written request begins.
Rhonda continues by explaining that “this bond posting has created a serious financial burden on my family and I am respectfully requesting that the bond be released to me immediately. I am currently unemployed and my husband is on short-term disability. We are facing disconnect issues on our electric and gas expenses and are without any other source of financial income.”
Unfortunately for Rhonda, asking for a refund is not how bonds work. The judge denied her request on Wednesday.
Clearly, the addressee of Rhonda’s request should not be the court, but Amber Portwood herself. If someone with financial hardships put up the Teen Mom OG star’s $2,000 bond, then Amber should be more than happy to repay that person. Perhaps that is what Rhonda was hoping for, and why she mentioned that Amber “owed” her the money?
Also unfortunate for Rhonda is that she is still at risk of losing her $2,000 if Amber violates the terms of her bail. That would most certainly include required court appearances, and possibly a couple of these common bail conditions listed in this comprehensive article about how bail bonds work:
- No-Contact Orders. In cases where the defendant is accused of stalking, domestic violence, making criminal threats, or other similar crimes, the court typically imposes a no-contact order. The order requires the defendant to refrain from contacting the alleged victims of the crime.
- Travel Restrictions. Defendants on bail are typically not allowed to leave the area unless specifically allowed by the court or pretrial services officer.
- Substance Abuse. Bail conditions, especially those in cases involving drunk driving, drug possession, or other substance-abuse related offenses, typically require the defendant to refrain from using drugs and alcohol.
We’re currently in the process of confirming that it was actually Rhonda who posted Amber’s bail, and we will update as soon as we have that confirmation.
It’s unclear when Amber will next be in court. There is a pretrial conference scheduled for October 10, but it is listed as “attorneys only” on the docket.
NOTE: The photo of Amber being jubilant and joyful while sporting orange prison stripes is from her previous arrest nearly a decade ago.
UPDATE – It was Rhonda that posted the bond, and we now have more information. Youtuber Without A Crystal Ball spoke with Rhonda and reveals that Rhonda is a former employee of Amber’s! She was reportedly in the house all the time for approximately three months and handled lots of things, including painting, cleaning, etc.
WACB spoke at length with Rhonda, who was clearly on Andrew’s side. Here are some bullet point highlights from the interview:
- “She showed that child no attention,” Rhonda said of Amber and son James.
- Did she witness Amber Portwood using drugs? “I never witnessed any type of drug use,” Rhonda says, before confirming that there was a heavy marijuana smell in Amber’s closet and a basket of pot paraphernalia in the attic.
- Quotes about Amber: “Yes, she did sleep a lot during the day.” “She stayed in her bedroom all the time.”
- Rhonda says Amber yelled at Andrew every day. “That poor guy walked on eggshells,” she says.
- Did Andrew bait Amber in the audio clips? Rhonda says that is absolutely not the case. “Anything would trigger her,” she says. She shared several examples, including having the car seat in the wrong car.
- Rhonda says that the perception that Andrew is a bit naive is absolutely true. And Rhonda was a bit defensive about him. “Even though she was a monster, you can’t help who you love,” Rhonda said.
- Rhonda confirms that there were multiple gash marks the following day on the door that Amber allegedly attacked with a machete that were not there before, and she says she knows because she painted the door. Rhonda also says that Amber came by the house after her arrest to pick up her things and found the machete, which still had white paint flecks on it. Rhonda says Amber said to her: “Rhonda I need you to do me a favor. I need you to tell Andrew that I love him and I need him to lie and he needs to change his story, because if he doesn’t, I’m going to prison for six years.” Rhonda says Amber told her that twice, and Rhonda’s niece was present. Rhonda says she has spoken to the prosecutor and the detective about Amber’s request.
- So why in the world did Rhonda bail Amber out of jail? She says Amber Portwood’s mom Tonya showed up at the house after Amber’s arrest and was receiving numerous calls from Amber screaming, demanding that she make Rhonda bail her out. “You’re going to bail her out of jail. Let’s go,” Tonya told Rhonda. Rhonda says Tonya is very intimidating, and also says that Tonya did not have the $2,000 herself to bail out her daughter. Rhonda also says it was implied that if she didn’t bail Amber out, she wouldn’t have a job any more. Those things, combined with Rhonda being fearful that not having her job would also mean she couldn’t be there to help Andrew and James, motivated Rhonda to go with Tonya and post Amber’s bail.
Here is the full video interview with Rhonda:
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
