A Stamford judge on Wednesday refused to reduce the bond of a man accused of critically assaulting a 2-month-old girl so he could go to another prison where his attorney said he could get better health care.
But Judge Gary White said Jeisson Garcia, 23, of Stamford was being held on serious allegations.
“It appears to me the bond is more than reasonable,” White said. “Some would argue that the bond is too low, but I’m not going to raise it.”
Garcia’s attorney Alex Martinez argued that because his client’s court-appearance bond of $1,750,000 is too high, Garcia is being held at the Northern Correctional Institution in Somers, New York. But he said prison officials there are doing nothing to address a growing health problem for Garcia.
Martinez would not say what the ailment is, but suggested to White that while the reduction of bail would not get him released, it may get him moved to the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, where he would receive better health treatment.
In February 2018, Garcia was
charged with assaulting the mother of the girl and his bond was set at $750,000. Prior to that, his lawyer said, Garcia had
no criminal record in his native Colombia or in the United States before he was arrested last November and
charged with first-degree assault and risk of injury and held on a $1 million bond.
Martinez also said the investigation that he undertook in the case raised serious doubts about his client’s guilt in the matter.
But Supervisor Assistant State’s Attorney Paul Ferencek called Garcia’s bond “reasonable in this case,” especially because
the baby girl had been assaulted so badly and had multiple fractures. Despite Martinez’s arguments, Ferencek said he could see no reason to reduce Garcia’s bond.
White said he could not reduce the bond simply to send Garcia to another prison.