Maryland Murder Suspect Held on High Cash Bond in Vernon Court

VERNON, CT — A judge at Rockville Superior Court on Monday assigned collective cash bonds totaling $230,000 to a man wanted for murder in Maryland.

Andrew Nurse, 28, was arrested in Vernon on Friday after Baltimore police notified local police that Nurse was at the Park West apartment complex in town. He has been charged with violating probation and a protective order in Connecticut as well as being a fugitive from justice in the Maryland homicide case.

He vowed to fight extradition proceedings, but prosecutors said they should have an extradition warrant signed by the governor by the time he appears in a Connecticut courtroom court again on May 22.

On Friday, Vernon police spokesman Lt. William Meier said the local department was contacted by detectives from the Baltimore Police Department regarding a murder that detectives were investigating in their city.

Baltimore investigators traveled to Vernon after they learned a suspect in the murder, later identified as Nurse, was possibly located at an apartment on Park West Drive, Meier said.

Vernon Police, along with the Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad, worked with Baltimore police to confirm that Nurse was inside the apartment. The Capital Region Emergency Services Team was called in to assist in apprehending Nurse, Meier said.

He surrendered without incident on Friday night and was taken into custody, Meier said.

Baltimore holds a warrant charging Nurse with murder. Nurse also had an outstanding warrant from Connecticut charging him with violation of probation, Meier said. Police also learned through the investigation that Nurse was allegedly violating a protective order by having contact with a woman in Vernon.

Vernon police said he is living locally with the woman he is supposed to be seeing. His defense team said he has family ties in Vernon and is working union construction jobs between Hartford and the University of Connecticut.

Baltimore police sad that, at 6:25 a.m. on March 11, officers were called to the 100 block of W. Hamburg Street for a report of a shooting.

When officers arrived, they found an adult male, identified as 33 year-old William Lee Lesane, with a gunshot wound to his chest, Baltimore police said. He was transported to an area hospital, where he died from his injuries, Baltimore police said.

Homicide detectives were called to the scene and began investigating the incident.

In Connecticut, Nurse appeared in court handcuffed, but in the same black Ralph Lauren sweatshirt he wore at the time of his arrest. Prosecutors argued for $1 million in bonds, but Nurse's defense team argued that would create a hardship for him to fight extradition and asked for $99,000.

Judge John Farley told Nurse, "you're not going to get that," and then assigned cash bonds of $15,000 each for the probation and protective order violations and $200,000 cash for the fugitive charge.

The arraignment took place right before the afternoon recess and as soon as Farley left the courtroom, a contingent of about 20 people on hand to support Nurse yelled encouragement, to which Nurse replied, "I'll be right back."

He was then ushered back into the holding area.

Photo Credit: Vernon police