Report: Temple student killed by criminal Krasner let walk

According to Ralph Cipriano at “Big Trial,” the suspect in the murder of Temple student Sam Collington is a criminal who escaped charges for armed carjacking, among things, thanks to the leniency of left-wing, Soros-backed Philadelphia prosecutor Larry Krasner:

The suspect in the murder of a 21 year-old Temple University student was arrested on Aug. 14th and charged with eight crimes in connection with an armed carjacking, including aggravated assault, robbery, conspiracy and possession of an unlicensed gun.

A judge set bail that day at $200,000 monetary, meaning the suspect, Latif Williams, 17, had to plunk down a 10% deposit of $20,000 to get out of jail.

The cops did their job. But then it was the duty of the D.A.’s office under Larry Krasner to prosecute the case. What happened next helps explain why Philadelphia today has already set an all-time record of 510 murders, with a whole month left to go in 2021.

(Emphasis added)

Here’s what happened next:

On Aug. 20, less than a week after his arrest, Municipal Court Joffie Pittman lowered the bail for Williams to $200,000 unsecured, meaning the defendant had to post no money at all to stay out of jail, but the judge also ordered Williams to be held under house arrest.

The D.A. filed no appeal. On Sept. 16th, Judge Charles Hayden granted the D.A.’s request for a continuance after a “victim/witness failed to appear” in court, according to the Municipal Court docket.

On Sept. 30th, only the second listing for the preliminary hearing in the case, Judge Martin Coleman granted the D.A.’s motion to withdraw all eight charges against Williams, and he was a free man.

(Emphasis added)

Here’s what happened next, predictably. Less than two months later, Williams tried to pull off another carjacking. This time the victim, 20-year-old student Sam Collington, fought back. Williams responded by shooting him twice in the chest. Collington died soon thereafter.

Williams is only 17, but has quite a criminal history:

Williams’s first arrest dates back to November 2017, the month he turned 13, for robbing a college student on the Temple campus of a cell phone, in addition to assaulting her.

Although he was arrested for that robbery, there is no record of the resolution of that case, which may be due to the youth of Williams.

On July 20, 2019, Williams was locked up for selling drugs. On Aug. 21, 2020, the D.A.’s office under Larry Krasner withdrew the charges against him.

On May 31, 2020, during the George Floyd riots, Williams was arrested for burglary, rioting and looting. According to the police, Williams kicked a police car window out and spit on the cops.

On Sept. 18, 2020, the D.A.’s office under Larry Krasner withdrew all those charges against Williams.

On Nov. 6, 2020, Williams was arrested for selling drugs. On Sept. 10, 2021, the D.A.’s office under Larry Krasner withdrew those charges.

Cipriano goes on to present a partial list of the many victims who have been murdered by armed and dangerous criminals turned loose by the D.A.’s office under Larry Krasner. Cipriano provides a more complete list here.

Sickening.

There’s a twist to the Williams case. His murder victim was, according to a friend, a “devout Marxist” who “would not want his death to be used to push any sort of right-wing pro-police agenda such as stop and frisk.”

How about prosecuting repeat criminal offenders? Is that a “right-wing pro-police” agenda item?

I don’t know the victim, but I suspect that, Marxist or not, he might want thugs like Williams to be prosecuted before they commit murder. It’s bad enough to be mugged by reality without being murdered by it.

The victim’s mother doesn’t seem to favor leniency in this case. She says she will “do everything to make sure that there is Justice For Sam.”

Unfortunately, it’s too late for that now. Justice for Sam, and for the citizens of Philadelphia, would have entailed prosecuting Williams for his prior offenses and doing everything reasonably possible to keep him off the streets.

But that’s not what Larry Krasner is about. He’s about “reimagining” the role of prosecutors. The role he imagines is dangerously close to that of defense lawyers.

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