Boxer Félix Verdejo Sánchez pleaded not guilty to charges of “carjacking” and kidnapping that led to the murder of Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz, the intentional killing of an unborn child, and the use of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.
The athlete appeared at the formal hearing of charges and bail before federal magistrate Camille Vélez Rivé.
The boxer had the court hearing virtually.
To questions from the magistrate, the boxer’s defense indicated that he had no proposals to present during the bail hearing.
Prosecutor Jonathan Gottfried requested that he remain detained until the trial against him for representing a flight risk and a danger to the community.
The Probation Office recommended that he remain in jail.
“Given that it is a case of presumption and as no evidence was presented, the presumption is that Mr. Verdejo represents a flight risk and a danger to the community,” said Vélez Rivé.
Verdejo is represented by attorneys David Ruhnke, Laura Maldonado, and José F. Irizarry.
The indictment alleges that Verdejo and Luis Antonio Cádiz Martínez, the other arrested for the Keishla crime, helped each other, with the intention of causing death or serious bodily injury, they took a motorized vehicle of the person (Keishla’s) that was transported, shipped, or received on the interstate for foreign trade, by force, violence and intimidation, resulting in the death of the 27-year-old.
