Ferrante remains in custody with reduced bail
Attorney Ava Bravo’s request to have her client released on his own recognizance, possibly with an ankle monitor, was denied by Justice of the Peace Kirk Vitto. Fabian Ferrante remains in custody with reduced bail after his court appearance on Wednesday, Oct. 22.
“He’s not going to be released to his own recognizance,” Judge Vitto asserted. “We can talk about bail. I’ll listen to both sides.”
Ferrante, a suspect in the Joey Perry murder case, faces one charge of accessory to murder after the fact. Ferrante was initially identified as a person of interest when the July 5 shooting occurred. On July 8, he was interviewed by Nye County Sheriff’s Office investigators but was later released because there was not enough evidence to connect him to the crime. Ferrante’s previous interactions with authorities were a major talking point during his Wednesday arraignment hearing.
“The one thing that I would like to emphasize, although I believe it is included in my motion, is the gap in time. I still have only limited discovery, but from what I can tell, this incident occurred in July of this year. My client presented himself to the police for interview,” Bravo told Judge Vitto. “They did not go looking for him. He went to the police station, presented himself for an interview, was interviewed and released.”
Bravo added that the time it took for Ferrante’s warrant to be served was indicative that police didn’t feel he was a threat to the community. She further detailed that her client has strong ties to the town of Pahrump, stating that he’s close with family and works two jobs.
“There is nothing to suggest that $250,000 bail is required in this case,” she said. “There are different, less restrictive means for which his appearance can be secured and the community can be protected. $250,000 bail for my client is essentially a no-bail hold.”
During Ferrante’s court appearance last week, his bail was set at $250,000 by Justice of the Peace Michael Foley after that amount was proposed by Deputy District Attorney Keith Brower. During that hearing, the state agreed to grant Bravo the ability to argue bail when the matter continued this week.
“I would ask that $25,000 or less be imposed and that the court can utilize a monitor or pretrial services to protect the community and ensure his appearance,” Bravo stated.
Bravo’s requested amount was not accepted, but Judge Vitto reduced bail to $150,000. He cited the newly decided bail amount as a balance between the risk factors and the level of Ferrante’s charged offense.
Ferrante will have a pretrial conference on Dec. 10 and is set to appear for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 21.
Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com
