A judge set bail at $25,000 Tuesday for a suspect in the melee that led to two shootings at a Las Vegas Walmart.
The bail amount that Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Harmony Letizia ordered for Raqiya Smith matched the $25,000 bail another judge previously ordered for co-defendant Ameea Blue.
Authorities said 28-year-old Kwame Swain was fighting with his girlfriend, Zsejhuana Saunders, outside the store at 5198 Boulder Highway when Smith, 25, and Blue, 30, approached around 6 a.m. July 21.
Swain “said something” to them, Blue tried to punch Swain, who swung back, and Saunders tried to break up the ensuing fight before Smith punched her, according to a Metropolitan Police Department report, which did not elaborate on the exchange of words.
Smith then called her husband, Travis Ward, police said. Witnesses would later tell investigators they heard her tell him to bring a gun.
Ward obliged, driving to the Walmart and shooting Swain, who survived but was hospitalized. Metro said officer Cristobal Magana responded and fatally shot Ward as he ran from the store with a gun in his hand.
Body camera video shows that Magana fired some of the shots as Ward fled with his back to the officer.
Deputy District Attorney Wendy Antebi argued in court Tuesday that Smith should stay in custody because she had multiple warrants and faced a previously suspended sentence in a 2022 theft and battery case.
The prosecutor said Smith’s bail should be $30,000 if the defendant was not detained. Prosecutors were concerned about Smith returning to court and staying out of trouble, Antebi said.
Defense attorney Ashley Sisolak asked for Smith’s bail to be set at $25,000, arguing that she and Blue were “similarly situated” and that the cases detaining her were misdemeanors.
“The difference in $5,000 is insane for someone who is indigent,” Sisolak said.
Both defendants were ordered to be subject to high-level electronic monitoring if released, stay away from the Walmart and have no contact with the victim.
Asked for comment after court, Blue’s defense attorney Paul Adras urged the public to reserve judgment and let the legal process run its course.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com.
