PORTLAND, Maine (AP) A judge says a Maine man can be released on $50,000 bail while a murder case against him moves forward.

The ruling came as a result of a Tuesday hearing for 24-year-old Mark Cardilli Jr., who has pleaded not guilty to murder stemming from the death of 22-year-old Isahak Muse in Portland. Cardilli has admitted to fatally shooting Muse during an altercation in March, but has told police he was defending himself.

The Portland Press Herald reports prosecutors told the judge they couldn’t show Cardilli was at risk of not appearing in court. They still argued he should be held without bail because of the severity of the charges.

Cardilli’s defense attorneys made the case their client doesn’t have a prior criminal record.