Los Angeles, CA—James Michael Fayed, 45 is still in the Metropolitan Detention Center being held on a single low grade felony charge for operating his gold trading company without a license. In most cases like Fayed’s, a relatively low bond would or a simple promise to appear in future court proceedings would bring about a defendant’s release.Fayed’s case is anything but ordinary. Fayed’s estranged wife, Pamela Fayed, 44 was hacked, slashed and stabbed to death in a Century City Parking structure late last July. The killer used a getaway vehicle rented with James Fayed’s credit card.
It became clear that the Fayeds were involved in a high stakes, nasty divorce and that Pamela had agreed to join forces with the Justice Department in an investigation into James Fayed’s business practices.
Federal prosecutors successfully argued that because of the LAPD’s ongoing murder case that Fayed is a flight risk with access to substantial funds to finance his potential getaway.
The problem is the LAPD murder investigation has stalled, a person of interest, Anthony Fayed, 52 who was already a fugitive has been out of reach to the homicide investigators.
Statistically this murder investigation is unlikely to result in and Indictment with each passing day. However as long as Fayed is behind bars there is no rush to seek an Indictment for murder charges.
Without murder charges somewhere on the horizon Fayed must be allowed to obtain release on bail. This wrangling over the pre-trial release will certainly end over the next 45 or 60 days. Right now it’s anyone’s guess just how this will play out.
There is of course a likely “wild card” and that would be a second federal Indictment brought for other crimes now under investigation. Crimes such as fraud, racketeering and money laundering could result in charges that would justify a much steeper bail amount, but bail none the less.
I have reviewed the very latest documents filed in this case and have seen nothing new worth posting. The next shoe to fall will either be a new federal Indictment, a state murder Indictment or the release of James Fayed on bail.
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