for BigTrial.net
The man charged last week with murdering a 69-year-old great-grandfather who had just withdrawn $400 from an ATM at Citizens Bank in Germantown was an armed and dangerous criminal who should have been in jail.
But instead, he got multiple passes from three local D.A.'s, including, of course, Philly's own Larry Krasner.
On March 4th, in connection with the Germantown murder, Corey Xavier Thompson, 23, of Chichester, PA was arrested in Philadelphia and charged with murder, conspiracy, robbery, two firearms charges, theft, and possession of an instrument of crime.
Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told ABC6 that 69 year-old James Watson had just been dropped off at the bank on Germantown Avenue by his grandson at 8:20 p.m. when he was approached by two robbers that cops said were wearing hoodies, skullcaps and face masks.
Watson, who was shot in the abdomen and suffered a graze wound to the chest, was found dead inside the bank lobby.
Between 2013 and 2018, Thompson had been arrested seven times in Delaware County on charges that included drugs and carrying illegal guns. He was still on probation on June 2, 2020 during the George Floyd riots, when a cop caught looting inside a Sneaker Villa store in Philadelphia.
Predictably, Krasner's office let the accused looter off the hook. Krasner didn't respond to a request for comment about whether his office had notified the Delaware County D.A. that Thompson had been arrested while on probation.
Last month, Thompson was arrested again, this time in Bucks County, after he was caught again with an illegal gun. But after his bail was substantially reduced, Thompson was out on the streets again and free to visit Philadelphia last week, so he could rob and kill a great-grandfather.
A career prosecutor who reviewed Thompson's court records in three different counties was left shaking his head.
"This is someone who should have been back in jail because clearly he could not abide by the terms of having a supervised release," he said.
Court records show that Corey Xavier Thompson was arrested seven times in Delaware County between 2013 and 2018, including four arrests as a juvenile and three as an adult.
His first arrest came on Dec. 18, 2013, when he was 15, and was arrested for burglary, a first-degree felony. Court records show Thompson wasn't tried on that charge until Jan. 18, 2018, when he turned 19.
In court, the first-degree burglary charge got reduced to a couple of misdemeanors, defiant trespass and conspiracy, and Thompson escaped a prison sentence.
Less than three months later, on April 12, 2018, Thompson was arrested for public drunkenness and possession of narcotics. Bail was set at $5,000 monetary, meaning Thompson had to put up $500 to get out of jail. Court records say that bail was posted on April 18, 2018.
Eight days later, on April 26, 2018, Thompson was arrested again and charged with carrying a firearm, possession of drugs, and retail theft.
On July 30, 2018, in a negotiated guilty plea, Thompson pleaded to guilty pleas to four counts, including carrying firearms without a license, retail theft, possession of a controlled substance, and conspiracy to commit retail theft.
As part of the plea bargain, Thompson received a sentence calling for 11 1/2 to 23 months in jail, plus two years probation, but he also got immediate parole. So he was back on the street again.
Less than two months later, on Sept. 17, 2018, Thompson was arrested again in Delaware County and charged with retail theft.
On Sept. 20, 2018, a bench warrant was issued in Delaware County after Thompson failed to appear in court. His bail, originally set on April 13, 2018 at $5,000 monetary, was upped on Sept. 20, 2018 to $25,000 monetary, meaning Thompson had to put up $2,500 to get out of jail.
Court records don't say when he was released.
On June 2, 2020, Thompson was arrested in Philadelphia and charged with burglary and criminal trespass after he was caught inside a Sneaker Villa store.
But since this is Philadelphia, most rioters and looters during the George Floyd protests got a pass from D.A. Krasner, who was more interested in locking up cops for following the orders of their superiors, such as Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.
Since Thompson's bail was set at $25,000 unsecured, Thompson didn't have to post a cent to get out of jail.
Court records show that during a 19-month period between June 2, 2020 and Jan. 7, of this year, the preliminary hearing in his case in Philadelphia was canceled five times, and continued three times.
Pursuant to an agreement between the D.A.'s office and the public defender's office, court records say, Thompson wasn't even required to ever appear in court. At multiple Zoom conferences, his lawyer showed up, but Thompson didn't have to bother to interrupt his criminal lifestyle to appear in court.
That's because according to that agreement between the D.A. and the public defender, both of whom are on the same team, "No defendants will be subpoenaed to appear" in court.
On Dec. 23, 2021, citing "prosecutorial discretion," the Philadelphia D.A. made a motion to withdraw the charges against Thompson.
According to a career prosecutor, Krasner's office should have notified the Delaware County D.A. about Thompson's arrest, so that Delaware County could have issued a bench warrant, and held a hearing on a parole violation.
If that had happened, Thompson would have been back in jail.
But Krasner isn't talking. A spokesperson for Delaware County D.A. Jack Stollsteimer, another progressive prosecutor, did not respond to a request for comment on why his office didn't seek a bench warrant to arrest Thompson for violating the terms of his probation.
On Jan. 7th of this year, Thompson was arrested again, this time in Bucks County, and charged with possession of a firearm with an altered manufacturer's number, and carrying firearms without a license. His bail was set at $125,000 monetary, meaning he had to put up 10%, or $12,500 to be released.
But on Jan. 19th, a judge granted a motion to decrease his bail amount to $40,000 monetary, meaning Thompson only had to post $4,000 to get out of jail. On Feb. 14th, Thompson was reported as awaiting formal arraignment, and was due back in court on March 11th.
A spokesperson for Bucks County D.A. Matt Weintraub did not respond to a request for comment on whether the D.A.'s office had opposed or appealed the motion for reduced bail for Thompson, or whether they had notified the Delaware County D.A.'s office that Thompson had violated his probation by being arrested in Bucks County on a gun charge.
So Thompson was free to visit Philadelphia last week and murder a great-grandfather.
“It looks like they went to rob him and they exchanged words,” Homicide Captain James Smith told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “They tried to rob an old head and the old head said, ‘You’re not robbing me,’ and they shot him.”
"I just want to know why they did it, what was the purpose," Tymir Alston-Haywood, Watson's 15 yeer-old great-grandson, told ABC6. "It's very sad knowing that even withdrawing money from the ATM your life is in danger."
Smith said the robbers fled the scene on foot without the cash. Watson's great-grandson told the newspaper that Watson had withdrawn the money for his mother, Watson's granddaughter, who had a broken foot.
But that's the way it is here in Killadelphia, with 99 murders to date, an 8% increase over last year's all-time record of 562 homicides. Nationally, Philadelphia is locked in a battle with Chicago, which has a million more residents and 100 murders, for the honor of leading the nation in homicides. As of March 6th, New York City, with more than 5 times the population of Philadelphia, had only 33 murders.
At this rate, Philadelphia will set a new record this year with more than 600 murders. It's quite a tribute to the progressive "leadership" of Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Police Commissioner Outlaw and D.A. Krasner.
To the career prosecutor, it appeared as though the Delaware County D.A. and the Bucks County D.A. were mimicing Krasner's lenient treatment of criminals, by allowing "repeat offenders to repeatedly violate their parole without consequence."
"This is a guy who clearly when he's out of jail he's commiting crimes," the prosecutor said.
To Philadelphians who read this blog, it's an old story that some armed and dangerous career criminal that Krasner let out of jail has gone on to kill another innocent victim.
As StinkyFeat wrote on Twitter, "#Killer Krasner strikes again."