PROVIDENCE -- A bail hearing for the man accused of killing a Providence
police detective last month was postponed again today because his
Massachusetts lawyer has not been able to hire a Rhode Island lawyer to
help with the case as required by the state.
Esteban Carpio, 26, who has been charged with murder for the April 17
slaying of Providence Det. Sgt. James Allen, was not in the courtroom
today.
But he communicated with District Court Judge Elaine Bucci via
videoconference from the Adult Correctional Insitutions in Cranston,
where he is being held without bail.
Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Esteban Carpio, 26, who has been charged with murder for the April 17 slaying of Providence Det. Sgt. James Allen, appeared in court by videoconference from prison, with his face obscured by mesh and cloth instead of the plastic mask he wore in person at previous hearings.
Even so, his face was covered, leaving the question of what his full
face looks like -- raised after bruises were seen above a mask used in
his first court appearance -- unanswered.
About 30 local lawyers have been contacted to assist Carpio's
Massachusetts lawyers with the case, but most have declined, according
to lawyer Kirsten M. Wenge, whose office represents Carpio.
The state Supreme Court requires defendants with out-of-state counsel to
also have a local attorney. After today's brief court session, Wenge
said Rhode Island lawyers have indicated that they do not want to work
on the case because of its "notoriety."
Allen was interviewing Carpio at the Providence police station about the
stabbing of an elderly woman when, the police say, Carpio grabbed
Allen's gun and shot him twice before jumping out of a third-story
window. He was captured a short distance away.
Today, Carpio's face was covered by a mesh and cloth hood as he stood
before a camera and microphone talking to Judge Bucci in a Providence
courtroom, where Carpio's image and words were broadcast over two
television sets.
Carpio's family members, girlfriend and others in the courtroom could
see the suspect's eyes and the top part of his face, since the top of
the mask was made of what appeared to be a thin mesh. But white cloth
comprising the lower part of the mask obscured his mouth.
Carpio's court session was conducted by videoconference for security
reasons, according to the court. After his arrest, Carpio was charged
with assaulting two prison guards and spitting at another. In two
previous court appearances, he wore a so-called spit shield, a plastic
mask that covered the lower part of his face.
Carpio asked Bucci if he could see his family.
"I can't let you do that," Bucci said.
Family and friends of Carpio in the courtroom, including his mother,
Yvonne Carpio, and girlfriend, Samein Phin, were quiet today. At
Carpio's April arraignment, family members shrieked and shouted about
his appearance. Some had to be removed from the courtroom. Before
today's session, Bucci said anyone disrupting the courtroom would be
held in contempt of court.
Bucci explained to Carpio that his scheduled bail hearing on the murder
charge would have to be delayed because the Massachusetts law office
retained to represent him had been unable to hire a local lawyer.
"I cannot have an out-of-state attorney represent you without local
counsel," Bucci told Carpio.
Bucci gave Carpio the option of asking the public defender's office to
represent him before she scheduled the case for a June 20 status
conference to determine whether his Massachusetts lawyer had obtained
co-counsel.
Carpio, standing between two prison guards, told Bucci, "I'm trying to
find out if I can get some bail as soon as possible."
Wenge, who works for the law office of Robert L. Sheketoff, said she
believed as of last week that her office had found a local lawyer,
admitted to the Rhode Island bar, to assist with the case. But because
that lawyer does not have an office in Rhode Island, the lawyer was
disqualified.
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