A Sunrise man accused of punching his ex-girlfriend in the mouth and pulling her hair found himself fielding steak-grilling questions from a Broward judge during his bond hearing Monday. Christopher Johnson was arrested and accused of domestic battery after police said an argument with his ex escalated into violence. By the time he stood before a judge, the conversation had drifted from the allegations against him to the ten-o’clock and two-o’clock positions for turning a cut of meat on the grill.
According to WSVN, Sunrise Police said Johnson argued with his ex and that the dispute escalated into violence. Police allege Johnson pulled his ex’s hair and punched her in the mouth, busting her lip. He appeared in bond court after his arrest, where Broward Judge Allison Gilman learned that Johnson works as a chef.
A Judge’s Unexpected Line of Questioning
Once Gilman found out about Johnson’s profession, she steered the hearing toward his kitchen resume, asking where he worked and what his specialty was. She then posed a more personal question: “If you were going to cook me a dish, what would it be?” Johnson told her he would cook a steak on the grill.
Gilman admitted her own struggles with the task, saying she either burns steak on the outside while it stays undercooked inside, or overcooks it entirely. Johnson offered a fix, demonstrating the turning technique and repeating, “Ten o’clock, two o’clock. Ten o’clock, two o’clock.” Gilman asked whether he meant to actually turn the steak during cooking, confirming she understood the tip correctly.
Bond Set at $1,500 as Cooking Talk Continues
The exchange didn’t end there. Gilman asked whether Johnson could make a $1,500 bond, and he said he could. She then remarked that Johnson could make bond because of what he was cooking, before asking him to confirm that Slackers was the restaurant where he worked. Johnson confirmed it was, and Gilman said she would have to visit the restaurant herself.
Johnson has since bonded out of jail, the report notes. As a condition of his release, he has been ordered not to have contact with the alleged victim. Under Florida law, a no-contact order issued as a condition of pretrial release generally requires a defendant to refrain from any contact with the victim, except through pretrial discovery as provided by law, according to the Florida Senate.
