for BigTrial.net
On Sunday afternoon, Latif Williams was out on the 2200 block of Park Avenue, just a few blocks from the Temple University campus, hunting for his next carjacking victim.
“We don’t have a crisis of lawlessness, we don’t have a crisis of crime, we don’t have a crisis of violence,” the district attorney insisted. “It’s important that we don’t let this become mushy and bleed into the notion that there is some kind of big spike in crime.”
“I understand that there is a long tradition in journalism of reporting around terrible crimes and, frankly, selling newspapers off of it, selling clicks, selling newspaper coverage,” Krasner said. “But we all have to resort to the truth. We all have know what we’re talking about.”
For 45 seconds on surveillance video, Williams, 17, of Olney, dressed in dark clothes, is seen scanning the street and shuffling back and forth. Then, he strides purposely to his right, and out of range of the camera.
At that moment on the same block, according to police, Samuel Collington, 21, of Prospect Park, just back from a Thanksgiving break with his family, was parking his mother's SUV. On the video, which lasts just over a minute, you hear off-camera a car door slam before Williams, according to police, attempted to carjack Collington.
But Collington fought back. Off camera, there's the sound of a gunshot and then Williams is seen hustling off, apparently trying to flee. That's when Collington ran after Williams, and is seen on camera jumping on Williams's back. Off camera, there's a scuffle, then, the sounds of three gunshots, followed by screams.
The cops say that Williams missed with his first two shots, but his second two shots struck Collington in the chest. Collington, who was scheduled to graduate in May and go on to law school, died two hours later.
The murder was preventable. Once again, the District Attorney's office under Larry Krasner repeatedly failed to protect the public from an armed and dangerous criminal. And when that sorry record was exposed, Krasner's office tried to cover it up.
Williams, whom police say is a suspect in four other carjackings over a one-week period that were committed in the same vicinity, was previously arrested four times in the past two years, including an Aug. 14th arrest for an armed carjacking.
But all four times, the D.A.'s office under Larry Krasner dropped all the charges and withdrew all four cases against Williams, so he could go rightback out on the street and continue his life of crime.
And when KYW news radio reporter Kristen Johanson asked Jane Roh, Krasner's spokesperson, about it, Roh lied to the reporter, telling her that all four cases had not been dismissed by the D.A.'s office, when in fact they had.
Roh's attempt to cover up didn't work.
Johanson wrote that she was able to confirm "through multiple sources" that all four cases previously filed against Williams had indeed been withdrawn by prosecutors in Krasner's office.
Johanson attempted to question Roh further, but according to the reporter, Roh "declined to comment further because Williams is a juvenile."
Here's the D.A.'s sorry record when it comes to prosecuting Latif Williams.
On July 20, 2019, police arrested Williams for selling drugs, but on Aug. 21, 2020, the D.A.'s office dismissed the charges.
On May 31, 2020, the police arrested Williams and charged him with burglary, rioting and looting during the George Floyd riots. According to police, Williams kicked a police car window out and spit on cops. But on Sept. 18, 2020, the D.A.'s office dismissed those charges against Williams.
On Nov. 6, 2020, the police arrested Williams again for selling drugs. But once again on Sept. 10, 2021, the D.A.'s office dismissed the charges.
Finally, on Aug. 14th the police arrested Williams and charged him with eight crimes in connection with an armed carjacking, including aggravated assault, robbery, conspiracy and possession of an unlicensed gun. But on Sept. 30th, the D.A.'s office once again dismissed all eight charges.
At a press conference yesterday, D.A. Krasner continued the cover up of his office's sorry record when it comes to fighting crime by telling reporters that while gun violence is up, other violent crime categories are down.
“We don’t have a crisis of lawlessness, we don’t have a crisis of crime, we don’t have a crisis of violence,” the district attorney insisted. “It’s important that we don’t let this become mushy and bleed into the notion that there is some kind of big spike in crime.”
When a reporter asked Krasner whether tourists should be fearful of coming to Philadelphia at a time when the city has already set a new record for homicides with 521 murders, Krasner responded, “No, they should not."
“They should come into the city of Philadelphia, they should enjoy every wonderful thing this city offers, in terms of shopping, in terms of staying overnight, in terms of dining out, in terms of walking around with their kids, wearing their mittens, they should enjoy all of that.”
"But no, they should not be fearful about that," he said because, "This city welcomes them with open arms."
Krasner wasn't talking about all the dangerous criminals that his office routinely lets out of jail, like Kalif Williams, who are out on the streets bearing arms. But Krasner did mention that tourists who dare to come to Philadelphia should be careful.
Just last month, a man from Bucks County was shot and murdered at Christmas Village, an outdoor peddler's market at 15th and JFK. The alleged killer was a security guard hired by a firm that had a contract with the city to protect Christmas Village.
It's easy for Krasner to talk about not being afraid of violence because he's insulated from the consequences of his own deadly, soft-on-crime policies.
That's because the D.A. has his own security detail that consists of four full-time police officers armed with Glock 17s, who chauffeur Krasner around town in a couple of black Ford Explorer SUVs. It's a security detail that costs the taxpayers at least $350,000 a year.
But in contrast to what Krasner had to say about violent crime, police stats show that:
-- Homicides are up 13% from 455 last year to 521 this year.
-- Gunpoint robberies, which includes carjackings, are up 25%, from 1,689 last year at this time to 2,102 this year.
-- Theft of motor vehicle tags are up 26% from 1,442 last year to 1,810 this year.
-- Theft from persons are up 13%, from 319 last year to 359 this year.
-- Theft from autos are up 8%, from 9,907 last year to 10,703 this year.
-- Retail thefts are up 22%, from 7,131 last year to 8,695 this year.
-- Auto thefts are up 16%, from 9,065 last year to 10,532 this year.
-- Shooting incidents are up 5%, from 3,686 last year to 3,882 this year.
-- Shooting victims are up 3%, from 2,100 last year to 2,161 this year.
At Monday's press conference, as he habitually does, Krasner blamed the increase in violent crime on poverty, the pandemic, the lockdown, as well as the police, for not solving enough gun crimes.
But Krasner never blames himself or the D.A.'s office for the surge in violent crime. But the D.A.'s own statistics show what a horrible job he's doing.
For example, as of Dec. 7th, according to the D.A.'s owns stats, the D.A.'s office has disposed of 5,543 cases identified as "violent crimes," which includes homicides, assaults, robberies, rapes and sexual assaults.
Out of those 5,543 cases, a total of 4,283 cases -- 77% of all violent crime cases -- did not end in convictions.
Out of that total of 5,543 cases, that includes 4,043 cases that were either dismissed or withdrawn by the D.A.'s office, as well as 100 other cases that were diverted.
Of the total of 5,543 cases, only 208 defendants were found guilty at trial, while a total of 1,040 defendants pleaded guilty.
Regarding gun possession cases, in 2021, out of a total of 1,258 cases, a total of 799 cases, or 63.5%, did not end in convictions.
That includes 757 gun cases that were either dismissed or withdrawn by the D.A.'s office, as well as 16 cases that were diverted, and 26 defendants who were found not guilty at trial. Out of 1,258 gun cases, only 25 defendants were found guilty at trial, while a total 428 pleaded guilty.
Dismissed/Withdrawn, etc = 757
Dive
To cap off a disastrous press conference, rather than let sleeping lap dogs lie, Krasner decided to attack the reporters who showed up to hear his drivel.
The same press corps that he's had in his back pocket for the past four years.
According to Krasner, it's the media that's responsible for peddling the fake news that there's a big surge in violent crime in Philadelphia.
“I understand that there is a long tradition in journalism of reporting around terrible crimes and, frankly, selling newspapers off of it, selling clicks, selling newspaper coverage,” Krasner said. “But we all have to resort to the truth. We all have know what we’re talking about.”