Accused Mexican drug smuggler skips court after posting $200 bond

[MichMan]

Detroit — A Mexican citizen facing life in prison for allegedly trying to smuggle more than 6 kilos of cocaine and heroin into Detroit has absconded after a Wayne County visiting magistrate freed him on $200 bond.

Jose Antonio Lopez, 24, is wanted by police after he skipped a March 12 probable cause hearing in 36th District Court, following his March 2 arraignment in 34th District Court in Romulus. He had confessed to the crime, police said.

Despite the confession, the severity of the charges and Lopez's status as a non-U.S. resident, visiting magistrate Vesta Swenson set bond at $2,000/10 percent. The defendant posted the $200 needed to get out of jail and fled.

"I’m deeply disappointed that someone who commits a crime of this magnitude, in addition to being a foreign national, which makes him a tremendous flight risk, is allowed back on the street for $200," Detroit police Chief James Craig said. "It's an outrage."


[link:https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2019/03/28/accused-mexican-drug-smuggler-skips-court-after-posting-200-bond/3287945002/|

[MichMan]

1. Magistrate in fleeing suspect case: I'm 'not perfect'

Detroit – A magistrate who set a low bond for a Mexican man accused of smuggling drugs in Detroit says she didn’t know he was accused of being part of a large drug operation.

Jose Antonio Lopez has disappeared after posting $200. Police say they caught him with 10 pounds of heroin and 4 pounds of cocaine. He didn’t appear at a recent court hearing and may have fled to Mexico after the March 2 arraignment.

Magistrate Vesta Svenson tells The Associated Press that she’s “not perfect” and may have overlooked the “large amount of drugs.” She says, “I don’t have any memory of this.” No prosecutor attended the weekend arraignment.

Svenson is a former judge who works five or six weekends a year. Wayne County Chief Judge Tim Kenny says Svenson will be dropped from the rotation.


[link:https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2019/03/29/drug-smuggling-suspect-flees-low-bond-magistrate-response/39275607/|

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

2. How do they have an arraignment without a prosecutor present?

Who represents "the people" in this process? Fine that the Chief Judge pulled Svenson from duty, but who's getting reamed by Kym Worthy (Wayne Co. prosecutor)?

On edit: Kym Worthy will have to scold herself. She made an excuse for not sending a prosecutor. The question still stands: how do we have an arraignment without a prosecutor present?

[MichMan]

3. 180 prosecutors on staff, but apparently none can work on a weekend

In a statement, Worthy said she will ask for for a weekend arraignment prosecutor in her office's next budget. "However, in this case, a prosecutor was not needed because in this case the fact that a high bond was needed was a no brainer," she said.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

4. The "no-brainer" solution would be to recognize that "the people's" table is empty, and ...

push the arraignment until Monday.

Somebody "assumed"

[catbyte]

5. Well, certainly there was no flight risk there...

I mean, everybody has a brain fart every now and then, but come on. This was a brain shart.