Ludwig lawyer may request venue change

By Cindy Landrum  

JANUARY 15, 2010 8:40 a.m. (0)

The lawyer representing John Ludwig Jr. on a criminal domestic violence charge pending in Greenville Municipal Court said he may be forced to ask for a change of venue.

Bruce Byrholdt, an Anderson attorney, said it would be the first time he’s done so in a municipal court case.

“Based on what I’ve seen today, I’ll probably be forced to file a motion for a change of venue,” Byrholdt said outside of Courtroom 8 at the Greenville County Courthouse after his client received probation after pleading guilty to an assault charge.

Ludwig is the Greenville businessman whose Maserati ran through a Greenville County home last April, killing 62-year-old Bill Bardsley as he watched television in his living room.

Retired Circuit Judge James C. Williams Jr. sentenced Ludwig to three years probation and 500 hours of community service.

Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Bob Ariail asked Williams to reconsider his sentence, saying the sentence was disproportionate with sentences in other reckless homicide cases in Greenville County and that the judge should not have considered Ludwig’s wealth.

Williams upheld the sentence last week.

During the same court appearance, Ludwig pleaded guilty to assault of a high and aggravated nature in connection with a burglary case unrelated to the Maserati crash. Ludwig was originally charged with first-degree burglary in a July 2008 case where he kicked in the door of a man involved with Ludwig’s then-estranged wife.

As a part of the plea deal, Ariail agreed not to seek a greater sentence for the assault charge than Ludwig got for reckless homicide.

Williams sentenced Ludwig to three years probation on the assault charge.

After the sentence, somebody from the audience yelled, “You failed us, Bob. You failed the people who elected you.”

“After hearing that, I’m not sure how (Ludwig) could get a fair trial,” Byrholdt said.

The criminal domestic violence case is on Greenville Municipal Court’s trial docket for the week of Jan. 25.

Ludwig has been in court once concerning the criminal domestic violence charge. Greenville Municipal Judge Matt Hawley found Ludwig in contempt of court for violating the provision of his bond that prohibited him from having direct or indirect contact with his estranged wife.

An inmate who was jailed with Ludwig at the Greenville County Detention Center after Ludwig was charged in the Maserati wreck testified the Greenville businessman asked him to write a letter to Ludwig’s wife and children telling them he loved them and describing Ludwig’s conduct in jail.