FORT LAUDERDALE–The Broward State Attorney’s Office has filed two charges against Eleanor Adderley, the wife of Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley, following an incident last month in which she was accused of firing shots at her husband after learning of an affair.
Eleanor Adderley is charged with one count of shooting into an occupied dwelling and one count of aggravated assault. The charge of shooting into an occupied dwelling is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The aggravated assault charge is a third-degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of up to five years, according to a press release issued by the Broward State Attorney’s Office.
The State Attorney’s Office said it found no reason to charge her with attempted murder.
"There is no physical or testimonial evidence that Eleanor Adderley shot at Frank Adderley and therefore there is no evidence that she intended to kill him," states the release from Broward State Attorney’s Office spokesman Ron Ishoy.
Formal charges will be filed during an upcoming court hearing, the date of which has yet to be scheduled.
The charges stem from a July 8 incident in which the couple argued over another woman with whom Frank Adderley allegedly had an affair in 2007.
Eleanor Adderley fired shots at her husband as he lay on a bed inside the couple’s Plantation home, according to police. She fired more shots as her husband fled outside to a neighbor’s house. There, a neighbor talked her into handing over the gun, police said.
“As for the shot that was discharged while Frank Adderley was in bed, he was awake and positioned toward the head of the bed when the shot was fired,’’ the State Attorney’s Office release states. “The bullet that Eleanor Adderley fired entered the mattress – notthrough the top but through the side of the mattress and down – at the foot of the bed. There is also no physical evidence to demonstrate the trajectory of the other two shots, which Frank Adderley did not witness.”
Authorities say Eleanor Adderley used her husband’s police service weapon in the commission of these felonies, which could carry stiffer penalties under Florida’a strict state statutes.
Florida law requires judges to impose additional prison time for crimes involving guns.
During his successful 1998 run for governor, Jeb Bush made getting tough on crime one of his main campaign issues.
After Bush won the election, and then took office in 1999, state legislators passed legislation known as the 10, 20 Life law.
Touted as one of the toughest anti-gun crime proposals in the country, 10, 20, Life mandates a minimum 10-year prison term for certain felonies, in addition to any other sentence, when a firearm or other destructive device is used during the commission of a felony.
If the firearm is discharged during the crime, a 20-year minimum prison term is mandated.
It is unclear if prosecutors will push for enforcement of the 10, 20, Life law.
Eleanor Adderley remains free on $25,000 bond. As a condition of her release, she is required to wear an electronic monitoring device. She must also stay away from her husband and his workplace, and must not have any contact with him.
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