After the attorney for Angelo Reyes lauded his client’s punctuality and cooperation during his long history of court appearances, a judge cut the prominent Fair Haven developer’s bond by about a third.
Judge Roland Fasano lowered the bond from $1.5 million to $1 million. He said Reyes’s accumulation of federal and state arson-related charges are too serious to warrant anything less.
Reyes appeared in courtroom 6A of the state Superior Court building on Church Street. He entered the courtroom handcuffed and wearing an orange jumpsuit. His family came to support him as his lawyer, Frank Antollino, asked Fasano for a lesser bail — about $100,000 for each of the two charges against him.
Reyes turned himself in during late February on charges relating to two suspicious fires that happened in 2008 and 2009.
Reyes said nothing during Tuesday’s hearing. He will remain in jail unless his family can post bond, an effort they’re discussing, Antollino said. After Reyes’ court appearance, the family discussed pooling together their assets and owned properties to help raise the $1 million.
Reyes will appear in court again on March 15 for a pretrial discussion.
“We will know more then,” Antollino said about posting bond.
During Reyes’s firsthearing in late February after turning himself in for charges regarding the two suspicious fires, bail commissioner Dale Mashia and Antollino also asked Judge Bruce Thompson to lower Reyes’ bail to $100,000 for each of the two warrants against him. Thompson said no and set the bail at $1.5 million.
The charges came after a father and son said Reyes hired them to firebomb a car on Quinnipiac Avenue in 2009 and to torch a property at 95 Downing St. in 2008. Click here to read more about that.
The state is also trying to keep Reyes locked up while he faces federal charges over four other arsons in Fair Haven. The feds say he allegedly burned down the buildings to make way for development plans; Reyes accuses the government of fabricating charges against him when another Fair Haven figure has been torching the properties. Read more about some of his federal charges here.
FILE PHOTO
Reyes and his attorney, Frank Antollino in court Feb. 24.
Antollino insisted again on Tuesday morning that Reyes doesn’t pose a flight risk. He said Reyes is a husband and a father of four children and has a lot of family in the area.
“He has made all of his court appearances, and he has cooperated,” Antollino said. “He has an interest to be out.”
The state argued that given his criminal record, the bond needs to stay high because he poses a danger to the community.
“Given the depth and breadth of these charges, a high bond is extremely appropriate,” said prosecutor Maxine Wilensky.
The judge agreed.
“These are extremely serious charges,” Fasano said. “And a rather significant accumulation of charges.” Fasano said the number of charges on Reyes’ record makes him more of a flight risk.