MONTAGUE — The court case for the former acting police chief in Montague has been transferred from Franklin County District Court to Holyoke District Court.
And a pretrial hearing for Christopher Bonnett has been rescheduled from today, Aug. 9, to Wednesday, Aug. 15, at 8:30 a.m.
Bonnett’s attorney, Michael McHale, said the case was transferred to the Holyoke District Court so that there is no one with any ties to Bonnett working on the case.
“It was transferred because the Northwest District Attorney’s office would have a distinct conflict of interest handling the case,” McHale said.
First Assistant District Attorney Steven E. Gagne said the case was moved to avoid a conflict of interest.
“Given the acting chief’s rank at the time this alleged offense occurred, and the close working relationship the Montague Police Department has with the District Attorney’s Office, we felt a change of venue was appropriate, so as to avoid even the appearance of any conflict of interest,” Gagne said.
Bonnett was arraigned in Franklin County District Court on June 29 on a charge of assault and battery on a household member, after an alleged altercation with his girlfriend earlier that day.
Bonnett was named the acting police chief in October 2017, replacing then-Police Chief Charles “Chip” Dodge who was placed on administrative leave by the Selectboard. Dodge, who had been chief since 2012, resigned in March as part of a separation agreement reached with the town.
Bonnett has been a lieutenant since 2016.
After Bonnett’s arrest and arraignment, Christopher Williams, a staff sergeant with the department was appointed acting chief by the Selectboard.