Though he said one day earlier that he couldn’t understand his court hearings because of schizophrenia and a need for medication, a Lander man accused of killing his drinking buddy following an unwanted sexual advance said Tuesday he can handle it.
Michael Vigil, 39, appeared in Lander Circuit Court on Tuesday afternoon, shackled and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit.
He spoke clearly and addressed the judge politely as “Your Honor.” Later when deputies escorted him to a jail escort vehicle, Vigil walked with a severe limp.
“There have been some issues with jail meds, those are arriving tomorrow,” Jon Gerard, Fremont County Public Defender supervisor, told the court on Vigil’s behalf. “But I went through the different charges with him and … I’m not concerned he doesn’t understand.”
Lander Circuit Court Judge Jefferson Coombs asked Vigil if his mental illness was preventing him from understanding court.
Vigil said no.
He’s Admitted To Some Allegations
Fremont County Attorney deputy Tim Hancock, the prosecutor, asked Coombs to hold Vigil on a $500,000 cash-only bond.
He cited the violence alleged and the strength of the case against Vigil.
Vigil has “admitted to” many of the allegations supporting the charge of second-degree murder, Hancock said, adding that he is concerned for the safety of the community as well.
Judges weigh the strength of the evidence against a defendant as a factor when determining the risk that the defendant will flee the county if released on bond.
Gerard said Vigil did not have a bond agreement Tuesday, so Coombs agreed to the bond.
Metal Bar
An evidentiary affidavit filed Monday accuses Vigil of bludgeoning another man to death with a metal bar in Vigil’s home overnight Saturday and Sunday.
Lander police responded to Vigil’s home early Sunday morning, where they reportedly found him, his walls and home spattered with blood, and a deceased man outside preceded by bloody drag marks as if moved from the bedroom.
Vigil told investigators he intended to knock the other man out, and that the man had lowered his shorts and exposed his genitalia, causing Vigil to fear the man was going to attack him sexually, the affidavit says.
Vigil said he asked the man to leave, but he wouldn’t. Instead, the man went and lay down in Vigil’s bed, and Vigil retrieved a metal bar from the kitchen and bashed him three times on the head with it, the affidavit alleges.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
