A federal magistrate says the defendant charged with killing a St. Thomas police detective will remain behind bars pending further court action. That ruling came at the end of a brief detention hearing held Monday in District Court.
U.S. Magistrate Ruth Miller upheld a plea by prosecutors for the continued detention of accused gunman Richardson Dangelben Jr. Dangleben was arrested July 4 following a shootout with police who were alerted to the sighting of an armed man walking through the Hospital Ground section of St. Thomas. In a written order filed Monday afternoon, the magistrate laid out the reasons why the defendant should stay in jail.
Dozens of people filled the seats in the main courtroom for the hearing held at the Ron de Lugo Federal Building on Veterans Drive. Coworkers, friends and family of slain Police Detective Delberth Phipps Jr. took their seats for the hearing. Police Commissioner Ray Martinez and St. Thomas-St. John District Chief Steven Phillips attended, joined by current and former top police officials.
The proceeding lasted roughly 20 minutes. Federal Public Defender Matthew Campbell asked the court to address his motion to dismiss the federal firearms charge that landed his client in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Both Phipps and Dangleben sustained gunshot wounds as a result of the July 4 confrontation; Dangleben survived his injuries — Phipps was pronounced dead after he was taken to the Roy L. Schneider Hospital. In his motion, Campbell said a recent Supreme Court ruling made the charge that Dangelben had a handgun with a defaced serial number at the time of the shootout unconstitutional.
The handgun was discovered after police searched the vehicle Dangleben was driving as he attempted to flee the area of Jah Yard after making contact with a patrol officer, but found his escape blocked by Phipps and another officer who also responded to the scene. A witness to the confrontation said the detective and the defendant were both armed with rifles at the time.
Campbell also told the court he needed time to review the response to his motion that was filed by U.S. Attorney Delia Smith. The opposition motion filed Monday morning said the high court ruling in the case of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen addressed the unrestricted right of law-abiding citizens to publicly bear arms.
“Which Miller, in her order, said did not include Dangleben. The magistrate called the defendant a danger to the community, adding that there was no set of conditions the court could fashion that would allow pretrial release in this case. ” … the court hyeld a detention hearing and found that detention is warranted,” she said.
The weight of the evidence presented by investigators, the defendant’s criminal record and history of using violence, and the fact that Dangleben was on probation for a prior offense at the time of the shootout, justified continued detention, Miller said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Conley voiced support for continued incarceration. “We’ve seen what happens when this man is released on bail. Bad things happen,” Conley said.
The court is expected to formally rule on the defense’s motion to dismiss, but how long that may take is unclear. The date of a federal arraignment hearing for Dangleben is also pending.
