Judge James J. Guida reduced bail from $500,000 to $300,000.
HACKENSACK -- A judge on Thursday reduced the bail of an Edgewater man charged with fatally stabbing a 16-year-old.
Judge James J. Guida set bail for Khari Noerdlinger, 19, at $300,000, with no option to pay 10 percent cash, down from the original $500,000.
Noerdlinger is charged with aggravated manslaughter, weapon possession and hindering apprehension in the death of Savion Lewallen, of Spring Valley, N.Y. Noerdlinger stabbed Lewallen in an altercation Sunday night near his home in Edgewater.
Noerdlinger's attorney Jeffrey Lichtman had argued for bail to be reduced to $75,000. Lichtman said Lewallen and four other people traveled from Rockland County to rob Noerdlinger.
"He was attacked, he was beaten to the ground, he was injured," Lichtman said.
Grootenboer has said that Lewallen and Noerdlinger worked together as drug dealers and that Lewallen believed Noerdlinger owed him money. Police found drug packaging material in Noerdlinger's bedroom that matched material found at the scene of the stabbing, she said.
Lichtman submitted several letters written by community members supporting a reduced bail, and referred frequently in court to the people who showed up to support Noerdlinger, including his mother Rachel Noerdlinger, a former aide to New York City First Lady Chirlene McCray. Lichtman acknowledged that Noerdlinger has been arrested before, but said he's never missed a court date or been convicted.
"He's not going anywhere, judge. "He's never gone anywhere in any of this other cases."
The family of Lewallen was also in court, across the aisle from Noerdlinger's supporters.
Danielle Grootenboer, acting senior assistant Bergen County Prosecutor, asked for bail to stay at $500,000. She showed Guida a picture of the 7.5-inch knife found hidden in the box spring of his bed. She also said the prosecution had a cell phone video that showed Noerdlinger at a gathering, hours after the stabbing, smoking marijuana.
When Noerdlinger returned home Monday morning, Edgewater Police were at the scene, Grootenboer said. At the early point in the investigation, they let him return to his house, around the corner from the scene, she said, and sent an electronic message to a friend saying he had gotten past them.
"Khari Noerdlinger did not call the police, did not reach out to these many members of the community who have put their reputations on the line," Grootenboer said.
Lichtman said Rachel Noerdlinger would put up the bail. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office must review a bail source questionnaire she filled out before Noerdlinger is released. He'll likely stay another night in Bergen County Jail, Lichtman said.
The four people who traveled to Edgewater with Lewallen, Mirleny Tremols, 33, Kevensky Lubin, 18, Richard Jean-Pierre, 18, and Calim Gaspard, 23, are charged with armed robbery. They're each being held on $750,000 bail.
As part of his bail conditions, Noerdlinger may not contact the family of the victim, must undergo regular drug tests, report weekly to probation and not possess weapons or drugs.
Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.