A Houston man accused of using a chainsaw to decapitate the body of his best friend and roommate after shooting him in the head will continue to be held without bail, a judge ruled today.

Dressed in an orange jail uniform, Noe Morin, 32, appeared before state District Judge Herb Ritchie, charged with murdering Marlon Thomas.

Police found Thomas’s body Sunday after Noe asked neighbor Adrian Bias to help him fix his chainsaw, then led him to the backyard of the Fifth Ward duplex Morin shared with his best friend.

Morin told Bias to look through a hole in the fence into the backyard of a vacant house next door.

Bias peeked through the opening and saw a headless body.

Morin said the body belonged to "Marlo," a nickname for Thomas.

"That is what I do when people steal from me," he told Bias.

In court today, prosecutor Lisa Collins repeated the phrase for the judge.

Morin was charged Monday with killing 35-year-old Thomas, his best friend of two decades. But Morin denies he’s responsible for Thomas’ death.

"He’s very standoffish and appalled that anybody would say he could do such a thing," HPD homicide Sgt. Ben Williams said. "That’s his excuse: ‘I would never do this to him. He was my friend.’"

Neighbors say Morin had accused Thomas of stealing drugs and money from him.

Police on Sunday found Thomas’s body covered by debris in the backyard of a vacant house at 4611 Coke, next door to the duplex where Morin and Thomas lived at 609 Schweikhardt.

Court documents reveal that Houston police suspect Morin shot Thomas in the back of the head before severing his friend’s head and one arm from the body. The other arm was partly severed.

After uncovering the body on Sunday, police searched Morin’s duplex.

Williams said in a charging document that he spotted a trash bag sticking out from underneath the house, which sits on cinder blocks. When a female officer pulled the bag out, "a finger poked through the bag from inside," Williams said.

Another officer opened the bag, which contained a head and arm, along with bloody clothing, Williams said.

Officer M. Khan found a chain saw underneath the house as well, he said.

An autopsy Monday determined Thomas likely was shot in the back of the head before he was beheaded.

Williams said Morin used the chain saw to dismember Thomas.

"It was quite clear that he did use the chain saw, and the damage to the body was very chaotic and ragged, not like something you would see with a knife," Williams said.

Morin, a small man, apparently was trying to dispose of Thomas’ much larger body, but wasn’t able to finish the job, Williams said.

Morin is about 5 foot 3, the sergeant said, whereas Thomas was over 6 feet tall and 300 pounds.

"There was no way he was going to get rid of that body without getting it into smaller pieces," he said.

Ritchie today appointed attorney Steven Greenlee to defend Morin. Greenlee said he is in the initial stages of investigating the allegations.

He said Morin is concerned about getting his prescription medication while behind bars. He said the medicine is for a physical impairment not a mental health problem.

Greenlee said he was not aware of any mental health history for Morin.

Morin has a lengthy criminal record in Harris County dating to at least 1998, when he stole a car. It includes convictions for aggravated assault in 1999, when he threw hot water on a man, and felony possession of a weapon in 2009.

Morin also pleaded guilty to evading arrest in 2001, driving without a license in 2005, unlawful restraint in 2005, misdemeanor assault of a family member in 2005 and misdemeanor possession of marijuana in 2007.

lindsay.wise@chron.com