Peyer’s Kin, Friends Put Up Homes to Post His Bail

Family and close friends of Craig Peyer, the California Highway Patrol officer accused of murder, mortgaged their homes and other valuable property to raise a $1-million bail to get Peyer released from San Diego County Jail.

Robert Grimes, the attorney representing Peyer, said that nine homes belonging to friends and family of the officer were appraised and were made available to be used as collateral for his bail, along with cars and other capital.

Peyer, 36, accompanied by his wife, Karen, left county jail about 9:20 p.m. Wednesday night after spending nearly two months in custody. He was arrested at his home Jan. 15.

The 13-year CHP officer is accused of strangling 20-year-old San Diego State University student Cara Evelyn Knott and throwing her body off a bridge near the Mercy Road off-ramp of Interstate 15 while he was on duty the night of Dec. 27.

Although Grimes would not specify how many of the nine homes were mortgaged to secure the release of Peyer, he said Peyer’s own Poway residence has been put up as security.

Grimes said Peyer’s family and friends raised about $100,000 in cash to pay for the bail premium (generally 10% of the bail) and “came fairly close” to raising the remainder using the mortgaged property as collateral.

Jim Hobbs Bail Bonds of Ventura County posted Peyer’s bail.

Grimes would not disclose Peyer’s whereabouts, saying only that he was with his family.

A spokeswoman for Cara Knott’s family said that Peyer’s release “created great anxiety and heightened fear on the part of the Knott family.”

Judith Rowland, director of legal services for the California Center on Victimology and Knott family spokeswoman, also said potential witnesses in Peyer’s trial could be intimidated by his release.

Grimes, however, said that Peyer was not a threat to the public and pledged that his client would not be contacting any witnesses involved in his case.

“He won’t bother anybody, he won’t contact anybody. . . . He intends to spend time with his family,” Grimes said.

Peyer has been suspended from duty as a CHP officer and has had all of his powers as a law enforcement officer, including using a gun, revoked.

However, under a state law, Peyer will continue to collect his $33,000-a-year salary until the CHP concludes an investigation on him, said Ben Killingsworth, chief of the CHP’s border division, to which Peyer was assigned.

Killingsworth could not say when the investigation would be finished.

A preliminary hearing for Peyer is scheduled for April 20.

Peyer’s bail was raised to $1 million from $500,000 by Municipal Judge Herbert J. Exarhos on Jan. 27 after additional evidence against him was submitted by the district attorney’s office.