Krasner Strikes Again! Suspect In Murder Of Temple Student Walked After D.A. Dropped Armed Carjacking Charges Against Him
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.
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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.
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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.
Less than two months later, on Sunday Nov. 28th, Williams, according to the police, attempted to pull another carjacking on Samuel Collington, as he was unloading his mother's SUV on the 2200 block of North Park Avenue in North Philadelphia.
According to the cops, Williams shot Collington, who fought back, twice in the chest; the victim died about a half-hour later.