BELCHERTOWN — A Chicopee man who allegedly shot two men in a bathroom at the Walmart store in Hadley on the night of Aug. 22 will continue to be held in jail.
The two injured men, meanwhile, were both arraigned from their hospital beds at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield on a series of drug charges related to the same incident.
At a dangerousness hearing in Eastern Hampshire District Court Tuesday morning, Wilmer Alvarez, 26, was ordered detained without prejudice by Judge Bruce Melikian.
Alvarez pleaded not guilty Aug. 23 to two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, and charges of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm without a license, and possession of ammunition without a license.
Investigators allege that Alvarez shot the two victims and then fled in a motor vehicle in which Keyla Fernandez, 32, of Holyoke, was a passenger.
In a Zoom court session later in the day, the victims, Juan Hernandez, 20, of Schenectady, New York, and Jeraun Matos, 21, of Springfield, both pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to violate drug laws.
Hernandez also pleaded not guilty to charges of carrying a loaded firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without an FID card, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Melikian ordered Hernandez held on $10,000 cash bail and Matos held on $7,500 cash bail. Both have a pretrial conference scheduled for Sept. 28.
The bail was recommended by Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Andrew Covington and agreed to by defense attorney Rachel Lauder. The bail amounts were set without prejudice, meaning the defendants may later seek to reduce the bail when they are released from the hospital.
For the dangerousness hearing, Deputy Northwestern District Attorney Jennifer Suhl filed a motion asking that Alvarez be detained on the grounds that he posed a danger if released. Nikolas Andreopoulos, a lawyer representing Alvarez, did not object to that motion. Since Alvarez was detained without prejudice, he can return to court at a later date to seek release.
Fernandez faces charges as a joint venturer with Alvarez in relation to the firearm and drugs. She is due to return to court for a pre-trial conference Sept. 20.
At her arraignment Aug. 23, Fernandez pleaded not guilty to charges of accessory after the fact, misleading a police officer, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm without a license, and possession of ammunition without a license.