R.C. couple seeks bail reduction in inheritance theft case

Attorneys representing a married couple accused of stealing more than $750,000 in inheritance money from three children in their care are asking a West Valley Superior Court judge to lower the couple's bail amount.

Richard and Yvonne Reyes, of Rancho Cucamonga, are currently jailed in lieu of $1.4 million bail on charges that they depleted the inheritance money over an 18-month period starting in September 2006.

The couple was granted temporary guardianship of three children whose parents died in a murder-suicide in June 2006.

This morning, Yvonne Reyes' defense attorney urged Judge Elia V. Pirozzi to lower bail from $1.4 million to $100,000.

David Goldstein, the attorney, said Reyes, a 48-year-old mother of five, has no prior criminal record, has never failed to appear at a court hearing, does not own a passport and is not a flight risk.

Goldstein told the judge he has clients charged with murder and other violent crimes with bail set lower than $1.4 million.

Pirozzi told Goldstein he wanted more time to consider the bail-reduction request, and ordered the Reyeses to return to court May 12.

After the hearing, James V. Reiss, Richard Reyes' attorney, said he intends to argue May 12 for his client's bail to be lowered.

The three children allegedly victimized by the Reyeses were orphaned on June 13, 2006 when their father, Monrovia fire Capt. Fernando Rodriguez, 41, shot and killed his wife, 33-year-old Katherine Rodriguez, in a parking lot at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte.

The Rancho Cucamonga couple had separated, and they would often meet to have conversations in the hospital parking lot.

In his suicide note, Fernando Rodriguez said he wanted the Reyeses to raise his children, according to an attorney who represents Fernando Rodriguez's parents.

The wife's parents and the children themselves also wanted to live with the Reyeses, said the attorney, Casey Hull.

Sissy Barker, the attorney who represents the children in their guardianship case, said she doesn't know what the Reyeses did with the money they allegedly stole.

"I can only indicate that the Reyeses have been given many, many opportunities to respond to that question in the guardianship proceeding, and they have either obfuscated the question, Ms. Reyes absented herself from some of the hearings, or they invoked their Fifth Amendment rights," Barker said.

"But they did confirm that all but a very small amount was left," Barker added.

Barker said the couple was ordered to provide Barker's office the money that was left from the $750,000 inheritance, which consisted of the parents' pension benefits, life insurance, and social security.

They delivered a cashier's check of $30 to $40, Barker said.

Reiss said this week that he's in the process of obtaining financial documents related to the case. He said he would have the documents reviewed by a forensic accountant.

He said he can't disclose what the Reyeses told him about the inheritance money.

Both Richard and Yvonne Reyes were dressed in orange jail-issued jumpsuits during this morning's hearing. In San Bernardino County jail facilities, orange indicates that an inmate is housed in a general population area.

Richard Reyes, 50, was wearing thick-framed black eyeglasses. The couple sat in the jury box and spoke to their attorneys for about 10 minutes before their case was called.

Wednesday's court hearing was a short one, with Goldstein requesting a bail reduction, the prosecutor responding, and the judge setting the next court date.

Deputy District Attorney Glenn Yabuno, the prosecutor assigned to the case, told Pirozzi the bail should remain set at $1.4 million because the law allows bail to be set at twice the amount allegedly stolen.