CALVIN C. Tagabuel is accused of killing a man whom he punched in the mouth, causing him to fall to the ground after an altercation.
Tagabuel, 47, was charged with voluntary manslaughter, and aggravated assault and battery.
He appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho, who imposed a $250,000 cash bail at a bail hearing Friday afternoon.
The Public Defender’s Office was appointed to represent Tagabuel while Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds appeared for the government.
Tagabuel was remanded to the custody of the Department of Corrections and was ordered to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 9 at 2:30 p.m., and for an arraignment on March 4 at 9 a.m.
Background
According to the complaint against Tagabuel, on Jan. 6, 2024, at around 9:46 a.m., the Department of Public Safety received a call about an unconscious male who was later identified as Lark Kasian.
Responding police and Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services officers saw Kasian lying down on the stairway at the entrance to Cool Laundry in Kagman, and was observed to have a swollen and dry mouth, a scrape on his right kneecap, and blood on his pants.
The victim was observed to be awake but was unable to speak and was transported to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. for further evaluation.
Kasian was admitted to CHCC for trauma subarachnoid hemorrhage or “bleeding in the head.” On Jan. 12, 2024, at around 6:07 a.m., he died at the hospital.
Police learned that the victim had consumed alcoholic beverage and had gotten into an argument with another man in the evening of Jan. 5.
While police were conducting an investigation, obtaining surveillance footage, and was processing the scene, they encountered Tagabuel, who told one of the investigators that he fought with the victim, Kasian.
In an interview with police, Tagabuel said he saw Kasian inside Cool Laundry and the on-duty security guard, who was asking for Tagabuel’s help.
Tagabuel said Kasian was pointing at him and the security guard, “making a fist with one hand and punching the palm of his hand threatening to ‘smash’ them.”
Tagabuel told police that Kasian asked him to “fight.”
Tagabuel said he punched Kasian in the mouth. Kasian fell to the ground, and appeared to have been “knocked out,” Tagabuel added.
He said he slapped Kasian two times on the left cheek, to wake him up, but he did not wake up.
Tagabuel said he later carried Kasian to the stairway just near the Cool Laundry entrance and told the security guard “not” to call for an ambulance and let Kasian “sleep it off.”
On Jan. 13, investigators reviewed surveillance footage from Cool Laundry.
Footage indicated that at around 11:14 p.m. on Jan. 5, a security guard attempted to escort Kasian out of Cool Laundry.
Kasian was seen standing at the entrance of the establishment pointing at the security guard and Tagabuel, who was in the parking lot of Cool Laundry.
In the footage, Tagabuel was seen approaching Kasian, pushing him, and pointing toward the east. But Kasian refused to leave and said “relax” about four times to Tagabuel.
Tagabuel then punched Kasian in the face. Kasian fell to the ground and hit his head. He appeared to be unconscious. Tagabuel then slapped Kasian’s cheeks twice, but Kasian did not wake up. Tagabuel again slapped Kasian’s cheeks twice, but the victim remained unconscious. Tagabuel then carried Kasian to the stairway near the entrance to Cool Laundry where five to six people came to look at the victim for a few seconds and later walked away.
On Jan. 18, 2024, Dr. Phillip Dauterman of CHCC conducted an autopsy on the victim’s body. Dauterman said the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head with skull fracture and traumatic brain injuries.
