LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Two women say the justice system has not done enough to protect them from domestic violence, after a man is accused of committing more offenses while out on probation and bond.
Amy Tidwell’s estranged husband Courtney Gage pleaded guilty to continuous violence against the family in 2022. He was placed on eight years of community supervision, or probation. After being found guilty of violating that community supervision in April, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.
“And then not 15 minutes later, he walked out of that courtroom just like we did,” Tidwell said.
After Gage appealed Terry County District Court Judge John Didway’s ruling, Didway allowed him to remain on his original bond rather than requiring an appeal bond.
“A violent offender should not be getting out on an appeal bond. You want to appeal it? Okay, fine. I guess that’s your right. But you should sit in jail while that process takes place,” Tidwell said.
Terry Co. district attorney questions bond decision
Terry County District Attorney Jo’Shae Ferguson-Worley said in most cases, when someone is sentenced to prison, they are taken back into custody immediately or their bond is substantially increased, often doubled, pending any appeal.
She said her office shares the concerns about why bond was granted again in this case and believes the evidence her team presented supported a different outcome.
Court documents from that judgment reveal Gage violated his conditions of probation more than 30 times.
“In the very least, his life was supposed to be altered somewhat because of what he put me through and the pain and the permanent damage that he has caused me. And that hasn’t happened,” Tidwell said.
Three of those violations include charges for assault in October 2024, assault family violence with a previous conviction in December 2024, and assault by strangulation with previous convictions in January 2025.
Second victim describes attack
Ashley Easley said she is the victim in the January case in Lubbock County.
“Two and a half hours later, I was at home and Courtney was strangling me and I was, I thought that I was gonna die,” Easley said.
She said Gage bonded out soon after his January arrest, even though it was a violation of his probation in Terry County. She said she didn’t get a phone call and only her home address was listed specifically in Gage’s conditions of bond as somewhere he needed to stay away from.
“Not my gym, not my son’s house where I’m staying. No one had asked me these things. I had no idea to even think about those things. I thought the ankle monitor was there to protect me,” Easley said.
She said negligence and miscommunication between counties have left her feeling like she’s on her own.
“Especially with a judge that Courtney has been before repeatedly. Whatever is going on here is not normal,” Easley said.
Lubbock County responds
Traci Wiseley, an assistant district attorney for Lubbock, said the county is doing what it can in Easley’s case.
“Miss Easley has talked to three different attorneys in our office, as well as multiple advocates, both in person and on phone. She has been given information about crime victims compensation and how to be informed on our case. We do try to let our victims know what the process is, and it is just frustrating when it does take a long time. But we have had consistent contact with her about what’s going on,” Wiseley said.
She said every case is at the mercy of the trial docket and there is a backlog in Lubbock.
“And we try to be upfront with victims about that as well. But when your life is kind of on hold until a criminal case is resolved, that’s very frustrating. And we understand that, but there’s also not much we can do to make it move faster,” Wiseley said.
Tidwell said Easley’s case gave her hope justice in her own case may come more quickly.
“So it’s like you’re happy that maybe this, maybe this is it, maybe this will get the ball rolling. But at the same time, my God, it should not have taken another woman getting hurt,” Tidwell said.
Third arrest leads to bond revocation
Gage was arrested again for assault against a family member in Garza County last month.
“My heart’s broken for me. It’s broken for all of the victims. But like, the fact that Judge Didway did not do what he should have when we were here in April, when he sentenced Courtney Donovan Gage to seven years in prison and allowed him to walk out free with tighter probation conditions, Judge Didway allowed this to happen to this new victim,” Easley said.
The most recent arrest led to a bond hearing in Tidwell’s case in Terry County in October. The new alleged victim, law enforcement and others testified. Judge Didway revoked Gage’s bond, meaning he will not be let out of custody until his seven-year sentence in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is served or he’s granted an appeal.
“We need for judges to start making the right decisions, looking at the evidence and taking these things seriously, because thank God this current victim is alive,” Easley said.
Ferguson-Worley said Gage has demonstrated a clear and documented pattern of violence against intimate partners. She said Judge Didway’s ruling to keep Gage locked up “prioritizes the safety of both the victims in this case and our community as a whole.”
Tidwell and Easley said they are looking forward to a better future.
“You know, I hope that one of these days that our relationship is not just based on our trauma and what happened to us, and we can have a normal friendship. And I know that day is coming, and I look forward to that,” Tidwell said.
Gage remains in the Terry County jail. Judge Didway did not provide a comment because the case is still pending litigation.
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