A District Court judge denied a prosecutor’s request to increase bail in the case of a Henderson man accused of kidnapping a local business owner, ruling that his previously posted bond was legitimate and that he should be released.

William Costa — charged with the kidnapping of Larry Gilmore, extortion and other counts in a second superseding indictment filed Friday — pleaded not guilty Monday before Judge Jasmin Lilly-Spells after attorneys argued whether the money he posted for bail two weeks ago came from traceable and lawful means.

A Metropolitan Police Department arrest report said Costa’s partner, Cynthia Marabella, had stolen $20 million from Gilmore’s construction company, where she worked as financial controller. Police said that after the Internal Revenue Service found out, Costa abducted Gilmore, binding him using zip-ties, and giving him two choices — either say that the money was a gift or investment to make the case against Marabella “go away” or Costa would kill his family.

Costa was arrested in February, and a month later, Lilly-Spells agreed to reduce his bail from $1.5 million to $900,000. The judge ordered that, if he were to be released, Costa would have to surrender his passport and be placed on high-level electronic monitoring. He also would be barred from contacting other co-defendants and victims.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal previously reported that three other men — Jonathan Martinez, 40, Steven Best, 35, and Brandon Schrock, 48 — also face charges in connection with the alleged kidnapping, and records suggest one of them may be working with prosecutors. Both Best and Schrock pleaded not guilty in an earlier hearing.

Still, Costa appeared alone during his bail hearing Monday afternoon. His lawyer, Jess Marchese, said Costa’s parents had provided funds for his release. Marchese said they had put up their homes and retirement accounts as collateral.

“There’s no issue with the source of the funds. These are just regular folks who work and have legitimate sources of income,” Marchese said. “We’ve met our burden, and then some. This bond should be posted.”

Although Costa had appeared for a superseding indictment, Marchese said the bond that Lilly-Spells previously set should “remain the same.”

Chief Deputy District Attorney Sam Kern disagreed. He claimed that when Costa made bond under the old indictment, he had made efforts to cover up the source of the funds. Kern said he had concerns about Costa’s reliability and that bond money initially came in a shoebox.

In light of the new indictment, Kern asked the judge to set Costa’s bail back to $1.5 million.

Before announcing her decision, Lilly-Spells said it was her job to consider whether Costa was a danger to the community or a flight risk. She said he had no prior criminal record and had ties to the community.

Additionally, Lilly-Spells said that, by forfeiting his passport, Costa would have a low chance of skipping court in the future. Given past testimony from Costa’s parents and evidence submitted to the court, she said, the defense had proven the origin of the bond payment.

Costa sniffled and, using the bottom of his navy blue jumpsuit shirt, wiped his eyes. As she made her ruling, he thanked her quietly.

“It goes without saying that all eyes are on you,” Lilly-Spells said. “Should you fail to abide by the court’s order, the DA’s office, the FBI, investigatory agencies, and the high-level electronic monitoring offices will be looking for you. We will be quick to place you back into custody.”

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@gmail.com.

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