Suspect in bus shove murder case did not ‘intend to kill’: lawyer
LAS VEGAS — There is more to know than a bus security video clip has shown about the case of a 25-year-old woman accused of killing a 74-year-old man by shoving him off a public bus in Las Vegas, an attorney defending the woman on a murder charge said Thursday.
Cadesha Michelle Bishop’s attorney, Michael Becker, acknowledged intense media interest in what he called the tragedy. He said “circumstances and events … that have yet to be made public” preceded Serge Fournier’s death. Becker declined to provide specifics.
“By no means did Ms. Bishop intend to kill Mr. Fournier,” the attorney said in an email to The Associated Press. “We definitely intend to contest the charges.”
Fournier died April 23, a little more than month after falling face-first from the Regional Transportation Commission bus to a sidewalk near his home in downtown Las Vegas.
The Clark County coroner ruled his death a homicide resulting from his injuries.
Witnesses told police that Fournier, who had a wheeled walker or collapsible grocery cart with him, had asked Bishop to be nice to other passengers.
Bishop appeared Thursday with Becker’s associate, Baylie Hellman, before a Las Vegas judge who rescheduled a preliminary hearing of evidence in the case for July 17.
Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Karen Bennett-Haron let Bishop remain free on $100,000 bond with strict electronic monitoring.
The judge addressed a local public outcry about Bishop being allowed to post bail with a statement that noted another justice of the peace and a pro-tem justice signed off on Bishop’s arrest warrant and bail conditions.
Bennett-Haron posted in the court record “notice to the public that Justice Court is fair and impartial.”
Prosecutors have served notice they might take the case to a grand jury before the preliminary hearing, which would be held to decide if there is enough evidence for Bishop to face trial in state court.
Police released the security video May 15, saying investigators still sought witnesses to the incident.
