Ray Charles Engineer Charged With Theft

A sound engineer accused of stealing the late Ray Charles’ master recordings got a break on his bail when a judge reduced the amount.

At a hearing March 1st, Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Dennis Mulcahy said Terry Howard has no previous record, so he reduced bail from $1 million to $100,000. Howard, arrested February 17th, faces two counts of grand theft by embezzlement from Ray Charles Enterprises and one count of receiving stolen property.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 28th.

Police said an executive from RCE called after he visited Howard at his home last month and saw boxes of the late singer’s recordings including the masters.

A search warrant was executed and police recovered what have allegedly been identified as hundreds of items belonging to Charles’ estate.

Defense lawyer Steven Cron told the Los Angeles Times his client had a legal and contractual right to have the recordings in his possession because he often works at home