Fiancee defends prison-bound beau

My name is Ashleigh Bronk. I am James Mickelson's fiancee. James is the one being accused of "throwing" his mother off of a balcony. Well I want to clear it all up because the papers and the judge are making it all look so horrible when really it's not as bad as it looks. First thing James did not throw, push, knock, shove or force his mother over the balcony in any way, shape or form. As for James choking her unconscious, that is not true either. And no, her injuries were not that bad, so she had every right to deny that they were severe.

James was on probation out of California, but he was not here illegally. He had a pass to be here to get a job and care for our 8-month- old daughter. He had a pass to be in Douglas County.

I am absolutely sick and tired of the newspaper and the judge trying to turn him into a monster. They exaggerate stuff and go as far as telling lies. I would like everybody to know I am not trying to turn James into an angel. I wanted to clear stuff up because everybody who has been reading his articles is saying awful things on The Record-Courier Web site.

I also don't want myself or my daughter to be looked down on or looked at as fools for loving him. She does not deserve that kind of attention. As for me, I have been harassed by the investigator on this case enough about things other than what James has done and I don't want the negative attention either. I'm expecting people to say that I hold James too high or that he is not as great as I make him out to be.

Well my response to that before it is even said is that I have always been the first one to let James know of his wrongs and I am very aware that he has done something wrong here; I would just like everyone to be aware of the truth. I don't expect anybody to see him in the light that myself and his mother do but I am just asking that everybody ease up on him because he did not force his mother over the balcony and he is not what you all think he is. He truly is a man who wants to take care of his little girl and his soon-to-be wife. He has made mistakes in the past, I'll admit it, but before this all happened he had a job and was working on making a life for his family. This was simply a family fight that got out of hand because his mothers boyfriend came stumbling, also drunk, out of the house and pushed them both off of the porch.

Ashleigh Bronk

Silver Springs