E-bullion: Fayed bail referred to appeals court |
| Date Added: September 06, 2008 06:16:01 PM |
An appeals court will determine whether a Moorpark man, who is a suspect in the stabbing death of his estranged wife, will remain in jail on a separate federal charge, a judge said Friday. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez refused to decide on James Fayed's request for bail, saying he lacked the jurisdiction to do so because the matter was on appeal to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Fayed, 45, is awaiting trial for one count of operating a money transmitting business without a license. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge. Fayed was arrested in August, days after his estranged wife, Pamela, was stabbed to death in a Century City parking garage following a meeting between the couple and their attorneys. The Los Angeles Police Department has named Fayed as a suspect in the killing of the Camarillo resident, but he has not been charged in connection with it. Attorneys for Fayed filed a notice of appeal with the 9th Circuit Court after U.S. District Court Judge Otis Wright overturned a magistrate's decision that set Fayed's bail at $500,000 with a number of conditions, including electronic monitoring. Attorneys also filed an appeal to Wright's decision in district court after Gutierrez was assigned to the coming trial. Along with saying that bail was out of his jurisdiction, Gutierrez on Friday raised the issue of Fayed's facing a potential murder indictment by the state in the slaying of Pamela Fayed. He said such an indictment would likely carry three special circumstances — lying in wait, financial gain and murder of a witness — which would have the punishment of life without parole, or the death penalty. Gutierrez said that if he were considering the bail appeal, he would look at Fayed as a possible flight risk. "Given that potential, doesn't that present a danger or the potential of flight?" the judge asked. Fayed's attorney, Mark Werksman, argued that his client was not a flight risk. Werksman said Fayed's young daughter was recently placed in the custody of Fayed's sister Mary Mercedes. A petition for the guardianship of 9-year-old Jeanett Fayed was filed last week in Ventura County Superior Court. Werksman also argued that the longer Fayed stayed in federal custody, the longer the state would take in bringing any murder case. "He is being detained because of speculation," Werksman said. "All we have is talk, threats from the state to file charges." In addressing the suspicions surrounding his client, Werksman said a number of people had access to the red sport utility vehicle seen leaving the parking garage after Pamela Fayed's slaying. It was rented with a credit card under Fayed's name and the name of the gold bullion trading company the couple owned. Werksman said the SUV had been rented six weeks before the stabbing death, giving a number of employees access to it. |