Govendo also granted the motion for bail modification filed by Assistant Public Defender Douglas Hartig on behalf of his client, Saluta, 40.
Govendo reduced the bail to $5,250 from $10,000.
Saluta, who was remanded to the custody of the Department of Corrections after the hearing, surrendered to authorities on Sept. 22 after he learned that a warrant for his arrest had been issued.
On April 19, 2009, the AGO said, Saluta threatened to kill Alejandro Orellano with a knife in the Fina Sisu market area.
Community members provided assistance to Saluta after he sought shelter at a park with his wife and five young children following their eviction from an apartment two months ago.
Saluta has been unemployed since April 2007 while his wife lost her job in 2003.
