The left coast has become a hotbed for all manner of radical policy in recent years.
What they’re doing there isn’t working, as evidenced by the increase in crime and homelessness, but when it comes to blind ideology, results don’t matter.
Now a Seattle judge dropped jaws with this ruling on a killer.
Released despite dozens of arrests
William Tolliver was charged with murder in connection to a mass shooting in Seattle.
But now he’s been released following a motion granted by a King County judge last week, even though he has a history of dozens of arrests.
On Wednesday morning, Tolliver was released to his grandmother’s home on electronic home detention while he awaits trial.
He’s facing a vast array of charges including first-degree murder, six counts of first-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm stemming from a January 2020 shooting that took place outside of a McDonald’s restaurant.
Another shooter involved in the incident, Marquise Tolbert, was found not guilty of first-degree murder and six counts of first-degree assault in September after his attorneys argued that he was acting in self-defense against a member of a rival gang.
The shooting injured several people, including a child and a woman with developmental disabilities, and killed another woman.
Even though three years have passed, the effects of that shooting are still felt among the victims, their families, and those who work in the area.
Casey Hogan was working downtown the day it took place and says, “When they heard the shots everybody was running. It was chaos. At that point, I didn’t know if it was a firecracker or what, and then you realize when people are all scattering, it was a gun.”
Prosecutor: “You absolutely should be held reasonably in jail”
Prosecutors were adamantly opposed to Tolliver’s release as he was on Department of Corrections supervision at the time of the shooting and has a history of running.
He was arrested, along with Tolbert, in Las Vegas after the shooting in 2020.
Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said, “When you have somebody who has a history of not following court orders, has a half dozen domestic violence offenses, no matter who the defendant is, that’s a concern. If you are charged with murder in the first degree, and six counts of assault in the first degree, and have shot victims at random, you absolutely should be held reasonably in jail, and that’s what we argued for.”
Court documents show that attorneys for Tolliver argued for his release saying, “Those three years have been exceptionally harsh due to COVID-related changes and the deteriorating condition of the facility itself.”
According to KING 5, Tolliver had previously been arrested 44 times, convicted of 1 felony, 18 gross misdemeanors and 1 misdemeanor.
