TRAVERSE CITY -- The local businesswoman believes she had no choice but to flee.
She had to leave Traverse City, she said, because a man who just days earlier invaded her home and pointed a loaded handgun at her head is back on the street, released from custody after paying $2,500 cash toward his bond.
She fears Old Mission Peninsula resident Wayne Robert Hutter, 62, may not be done with her.
"I thought I was going to die," said the woman, 56, after Hutter allegedly confronted her at her West Ninth Street residence on Sunday. "Have you ever looked down the barrel of a gun while somebody is screaming at you and telling you to look into his eyes and talk to him?"
Hutter is charged with home invasion, illegally carrying a concealed weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon, felony firearm and two misdemeanors, including driving while intoxicated. He faces up to 22 years in prison, if convicted.
Judge Michael Haley of the 86th District Court on Tuesday set Hutter's bond at 10 percent of $25,000, or $2,500 cash, and he was released from the Grand Traverse County Jail.
"He held a gun to my head and threatened my life for 20 minutes and he can pay $2,500 and walk?" the woman said. "I was pretty hysterical when I found out he was going to walk for $2,500."
Haley said he considered Hutter's age, lack of criminal record, good driving history and his ties to the community when he set bond. Hutter is retired from the Dow Chemical Company, Haley said.
"I do believe it was and is a reasonable bond," Haley said.
Hutter likely will return to court for all hearings and is entitled to a reasonable bond level, Haley said.
"Now, offsetting the fact that he has ties to the community, you've got a really serious charge," Haley said.
Hutter showed up uninvited at the woman's house on Sunday afternoon, said Capt. Steve Morgan of the Traverse City Police Department. He entered and said he wanted to talk, but the woman, described as a former girlfriend and longtime acquaintance, had no interest in conversation.
Hutter allegedly pulled a pistol from his pocket, held it to her head, and told the woman he wanted her to suffer, court records show.
Hutter finally left the house and police later found the loaded pistol in his vehicle at his house on Center Road in Peninsula Township, where he was arrested, Morgan said.
Hutter declined to comment until he hired an attorney, he told a Record-Eagle reporter, and said he may not comment after that.
Assistant Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Jennifer Tang-Anderson, who will prosecute the case, could not be reached for comment.
Hutter is required to stay away from his alleged victim, is barred from drug or alcohol use, and was ordered to turn over all weapons to authorities, according to his bond terms.
The woman filed for a personal protection order. She said Hutter stalked and harassed her during the week leading up to the alleged assault, and termed it strange behavior for a man she knew as a friend for 18 years.
He'd left her strange, "paranoid" telephone calls that she didn't return, apparently prompting the alleged assault at her house.
"I haven't slept or eaten in days. I feel like a hunted animal," she said, adding she remains worried for her family and friends, all of whom Hutter knows well.
"He needs help. He's got some things to work through. I don't know if it's depression or anger or what it is," she said.
Hutter is set for a preliminary exam before Haley on Sept. 23 in Grand Traverse County's district court.
