The man accused of fatally shooting a Public Works employee in Bolongo Bay pleaded not guilty to first- and second-degree murder. But the magistrate who presided over the Friday arraignment decided not to lower the bail for accused gunman Quasheem Christian.
Christian was arrested on the job at WAPA on St. Croix Dec. 6, charged with the execution-style killing of 31-year-old Chandler Heath on St. Thomas on Jan. 29, 2023. He appeared for arraignment by way of livestream video from the Bureau of Corrections, where he has been in custody since his arrest.
Bail was set at $1 million. On Jan. 17 — two days before Friday’s arraignment — Interim Chief Public Defender Annette Collins filed a motion in Superior Court asking for Christian’s bail to be reduced to $100,000.
Collins told the court her client had no money and could not pay $1 million. “According to rule 5-1(b) of the Virgin Islands Rules of Criminal Procedure (V.I.R.Crim.P), excessive bail shall not be required.”
Superior Court Magistrate Paula Norkadis acknowledged receipt of the motion but added she would leave the decision to act on it up to the judge assigned to conduct Christian’s trial.
“This court is not going to rule on this motion,” Norkadis said.
Judge Sigrid Tejo is expected to preside over all pre-trial hearings leading up to a scheduled trial on a date to be determined. Christian was ordered to appear in court for the next scheduled hearing in his murder case on June 3.
