A Kingfisher man jailed since October for allegedly shooting his brother-in-law was released Wednesday when District Judge Paul Woodward reduced his total bonds from $110,000 to $51,000 on the condition that he immediately enter alcohol treatment.

Brian Eugene Beecher, 55, had been jailed on bonds of $10,000 on a charge of assault and battery with a deadly weapon for allegedly shooting Mitch Massey, 49, with a .357 magnum revolver, and $100,000 for an alleged probation violation on a previous misdemeanor conviction for driving while impaired.

The disparity of bonds between the felony and misdemeanor charges resulted from a difference of opinion between Woodward and former Associate District Judge Robert Davis.

When Beecher was arrested two hours after the alleged Oct. 5 shooting, Davis signed an order setting a $100,000 bond.

His initial court appearance on the felony charge the following Wednesday was before Woodward, who granted a motion filed by Beecher’s previous attorney to reduce the bond to $10,000.

Beecher was released later that day but was arrested again the following day on the misdemeanor probation violation and appeared before Davis, who set bond at $100,000 on the misdemeanor and ordered protective orders for the victim and two other family members.

At a hearing Wednesday, Woodward ordered the bond on the felony increased from $10,000 to $50,000 but reduced the bond on the misdemeanor from $100,000 to $1,000, over the objection of the district attorney’s office.

Michael J. Amend, Beecher’s attorney, filed an application requesting a bond reduction, arguing that both charges stemmed from Beecher’s alcohol addiction and noting that officers found numerous beer cans at the scene of the shooting and Beecher admitted to being intoxicated.

Assistant District Attorney Micheal Oglesby disagreed with that assessment.

“This isn’t just about alcohol. The felony charge and the need for the high bond derives from the victim being shot three times and being hospitalized,” he said.

Oglesby noted that Beecher has a history of violence against this brother-in-law, pointing out a previous misdemeanor assault and battery conviction that has since been expunged in which Massey also was the victim.

“The victim and the victim’s family and those associated with them are all responsible members of the community and they are saying they don’t want the bond lowered,” Oglesby said.

Woodward’s order effectively cutting Beecher’s total bond in half included conditions that he enroll immediately in an inpatient alcohol treatment center in Oklahoma City and that he remain away from Massey and other members of his household, who were present in the courtroom.

Other family members in support of Beecher’s release also were present.

A motion for a change of venue was stricken.

Beecher is charged with allegedly firing a .357 magnum into the cab of a skid steer loader, two of which struck Massey, who was operating the machine on the Masseys’ College Hill property northeast of Kingfisher.

Beecher is scheduled for disposition of both the felony and misdemeanor charges at 10 a.m. June 12, at which time he may enter a plea.