By: DANIELLE CAMILLI
Bucks County Courier Times
Cesar Reyes is a material witness in the killings of two Springfield farmworkers.

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. - The migrant worker who told authorities he watched his brother brutally murder two fellow farmhands is being held on $1 million bail as a material witness in the Springfield homicides.

Cesar Reyes, an illegal immigrant from Honduras, is not charged in the machete slayings, but will remain in custody in lieu of bail to secure his availability as a witness. Reyes has cooperated with authorities and has implicated his brother in the murders, officials said.

He was extradited from Texas to New Jersey this week and had his first appearance in Superior Court on Friday.

His brother, Carlos Reyes, is awaiting extradition. He is charged with murder in the grisly deaths of Alex Aguilar, 29, and Marcial Morales-Maldonado, 48, at the Sterling Chase Horse Farm in rural Springfield on Feb. 26

Authorities said Carlos Reyes, 41, murdered the farmworkers after an alcohol-fueled argument between himself and the victims. Cesar Reyes, 38, told investigators he witnessed the attack.

On Friday, Judge James J. Morley found Cesar Reyes to be a flight risk given he has no ties to the community, no job and fled the state with his brother after the murders. He also appointed attorney Mark Fury of Mount Holly to represent him.

"There is a substantial risk of flight and there is no amount of bail that would meaningfully deter him from fleeing," the judge said.

Burlington County Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor James Ronca asked for $2 million bail for Cesar Reyes, citing the risk of flight, his previous plan to flee the country and the importance of the information he provided to authorities. He also said the United States does not have normal diplomatic relations with Honduras to secure Reyes' return if he fled.

Advertisement "A seven-figure bail is needed to ensure his presence in New Jersey," Ronca said.

Cesar Reyes is being held on a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer, but the agency could deport him or he could consent to deportation, the prosecutor said.

Both Reyes brothers were taken into custody earlier this month in Houston. Local, state and federal law enforcement apprehended them there before they left the country.

The two brothers lived and worked with Aguilar and Morales-Maldonado, also illegal immigrants from Honduras, for several years.

A female farmworker found the victims' mutilated bodies Feb. 28 outside the workers' living quarters on the farm. The Reyes brothers also were missing.

An autopsy performed by the Burlington County Medical Examiner's determined Aguilar and Morales-Maldonado were killed as a result of "massive head trauma caused by hacking and cutting consistent with a machete," Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi said when Reyes was charged. The machete was recovered, he said.

The murders are believed to be the first homicide in Springfield in nearly 30 years.

March 23, 2009 01:11 AM
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