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Former Seahawk appears in court, accused of removing electronic ankle monitor

Former Seahawk, Chad Wheeler, appeared in court Tuesday after prosecutors say he removed his electronic ankle monitor and went off the grid for two days.

Wheeler has been on house arrest for more than a year while awaiting trial on assault charges. He’s accused of choking his then-girlfriend, Alleah Taylor.

Court documents outline that Wheeler experienced a mental health crisis on Sunday in which he “took all his clothes off, removed his EHM (electronic home monitoring) ankle bracelet and began wandering the streets.” After being evaluated at a Kirkland hospital, Wheeler was released.

Wheeler continued to be without an ankle monitor until Tuesday, when the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office asked for an emergency hearing to determine where Wheeler was.

Wheeler appeared at the hearing with his defense attorney. Taylor also attended the hearing.

“A lot of survivors don’t show up in court because they’re terrified. I was terrified. I was shaking,” said Taylor.

Despite her fears, Taylor tells KIRO 7 she attended the hearing because she wanted to advocate for herself and ask that Judge Ketu Shah put additional safeguards in place.

Prosecutor Chad Anderson also asked that the judge raise bail and hold Wheeler in custody.

“Our priority is the victim’s safety and if he’s in custody we know that she’s safe,” said Anderson.

The judge declined to increase bail or hold Wheeler. Instead, the judge issued him another ankle monitor and implemented bi-weekly drug testing.

“I don’t think that’s any comfort to Ms. Taylor,” said Anderson. “He’s shown he can escape the home monitoring.”

Wheeler was able to return home after the hearing. But the judge ordered that his medication intake be monitored and that Taylor be immediately notified if there is another violation with his ankle monitor.

Taylor says there was a delay in notifying her over the weekend, which she believes disregarded her safety. Taylor tells KIRO 7 she was only emailed about Wheeler’s escape once he had been free from home monitoring for more than a day. She was unsure whether he’d be at Tuesday’s hearing.

“It was terrifying to even have to face him, but I’m glad that they saw I’m not scared to speak up,” said Taylor. “I’m not going to stop fighting until I receive justice.”

Taylor says she’ll continue to work as a domestic violence advocate, as she awaits trial.

Prosecutors tell KIRO 7 they hope Wheeler’s trial on the domestic violence charges will begin later this year, but credit a COVID-19 court case backlog as a reason for the delay.