Gibran Copeland, the homeless man indicted on murder and firearm charges in the Sept. 9 death of his girlfriend, whose body was found in a Manoa storm drain, asked an Oahu Circuit Court judge that bail be set in his case.
Copeland, 44, was arraigned Monday, pleading not guilty to charges of
second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony, for allegedly shooting 50-year-old Christina Baca multiple times.
Court-appointed attorney Harrison Kiehm asked Judge Ronald Johnson that bail be set, and pointed out the defendant’s father, Walter
Copeland, in the gallery.
Walter Copeland waved
to his son, who appeared by video teleconferencing, and shot cellphone photos of him.
Kiehm said that a no-bail hold is unwarranted.
He said that by setting bail, a pretrial bail investigation would be triggered and allow for an investigation, resulting in a report.
Deputy Prosecutor Molly O’Neill said Baca’s body was found Sept. 13 in a storm drain and that surveillance of the area links the
defendant to the crime.
She said Gibran Copeland is a flight risk, has a history of domestic violence and that before killing Baca, he grabbed her and pulled her to the ground.
At the time of his arrest, he was a transient and had no information of employment, O’Neill said.
Copeland informed the court he receives Army retirement of $3,000 a month.
Police took four weeks to investigate the crime, interviewed numerous witnesses, analyzed digital trace and DNA evidence and reviewed hours of surveillance video before arresting Copeland on Oct. 11.
Police said he was living in a tent on Hunakai Street and that Baca also lived in
a homeless encampment.
However, the judge cited a recent Intermediate Court of Appeals’ decision in State v. Carter, in which bail was set at $3.3 million by the Circuit Court. Carter argued the bail was excessively high, but his original bail status was no bail. The ICA ruled that the Circuit Court abused its discretion by setting cash bail in the amount of $3.3 million without analyzing the financial circumstances of the defendant. However, it found the denial of bail appropriate.
Johnson said with respect to the matter in the Copeland case, Kiehm could take up the matter with the trial judge.
Copeland’s trial is set for Dec. 23 before Judge Catherine Remigio.
