THE BRONX — The man accused of shooting his wife in their Williamsbridge home on Christmas morning laughed before shooting her a second time then fled to Maryland, according to the Bronx District Attorney.
The husband, Rafael Herrera, 37, pleaded not guilty through an interpreter to attempted murder charges in court on Tuesday, roughly a week after police tracked him down and arrested him.
He is accused of shooting his wife, 27-year-old Yadira Perea Saavedra, in the neck and arm around 10 a.m. on Christmas Day in their home by East 220th Street and Paulding Avenue.
Assistant District Attorney Kathryn Falasca said that the shooting demonstrated an escalating level of violence within their relationship as Herrera had threatened to kill his wife several months ago and showed her a picture of a gun several weeks ago, saying that he would kill her if she ever left him.
This came to a head on Christmas, when he shot her while their two children, niece and nephew slept upstairs, according to Falasca.
He did not show any remorse after shooting her the first time, she said.
"He walked over to her. He looked at her. He laughed, and he shot her a second time," Falasca said.
Saavedra is still in the hospital and has a bullet lodged so close to her spine that it may be inoperable, according to Falasca.
"This defendant should get no credit for the fact that his victim is alive today," she said.
She petitioned for him to be held without bail, noting that "there is no greater risk of flight than someone who has already fled."
Defense attorney Steven Kessler argued for setting bail around $5,000, saying that his client had never been in trouble with the law before.
The judge set bail for Herrera at $750,000 and he is due back in court on April 4.
