An 18-year-old from Rutland — who was released on conditions Monday after pleading not guilty to a state manslaughter charge — is now behind bars on a federal firearms offense.
Kahliq Richardson is accused of illegal possession of a firearm and appeared via video in federal court in Burlington on Tuesday. Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle ordered Richardson be held until a detention hearing Friday, as requested by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy Fuller. Richardson did not enter a plea on the federal charges.
Mark Kaplan, Richardson’s attorney, did not object to his client being held until Friday’s hearing. Kaplan, reached after Tuesday’s hearing, declined to comment.
Richardson had told police that as he handed a 9mm Taurus handgun early Saturday morning to 19-year-old Jonah Pandiani in a Rutland motel room, the gun went off and Pandiania died from a shot to the head.
Richardson told police the shooting was not intentional. He appeared Monday in Rutland Superior Court criminal court, where he pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He was released on conditions, though the prosecutor had urged that he be held without bail.
Other people in the Quality Inn motel room reported that they either didn’t see the shooting or were asleep at the time. Richardson ran away after the shooting but a few hours later went to the Rutland police station with his parents and provided a statement.
Judge David Fenster, who presided over the Rutland arraignment, said Richardson’s alleged actions may have been reckless but didn’t show that he would pose a threat of violence to others if he were released.
Fenster released Richardson to the custody of his parents and ordered that he abide by a 24-hour curfew.
According to court records, Richardson was then taken into custody Monday evening on federal firearms offenses, which stem from an earlier restraining order issued against Richardson in a separate incident involving an ex-girlfriend.
The federal charges allege that because of that restraining order, Richardson was not allowed to possess a firearm. Additionally, the charges allege that he was a known drug user in possession of a firearm.
If convicted of the federal offense, Richardson could face up to 10 years in prison and be fined up to $250,000.
