The suspect in the murder of a 21-year-old Temple University student previously had armed carjacking charges dismissed by radically left-wing Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.
Latif Williams, 17, allegedly shot and killed Temple student Samuel Collington during an attempted robbery. Krasner dropped numerous serious charges against Williams on multiple occasions.
On August 14, Williams was arrested 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 Williams only needed a 10% deposit of $20,000 to get out of jail. Less than a week later, a Municipal Court judge lowered the bail for Williams to $200,000 unsecured, meaning the defendant had to post no money at all to get out of jail.
Krasner’s office filed no appeal and Williams was then placed under house arrest. 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 September 30th, Judge Martin Coleman granted the D.A.’s motion to withdraw all eight charges against Williams, who was subsequently released.
Less than two months later, Williams attempted to rob Samuel Collington while he was unloading his mother’s SUV in Philadelphia. According to law enforcement officials, Collington was shot twice in the chest and died less than an hour later.
Latif Williams had numerous other run-ins with the law prior to his August arrest. He was first arrested after he had just turned 13 for assaulting a Temple student and stealing her phone. In 2019, he was arrested for selling drugs. Those charges were later dismissed by D.A. Krasner’s office on August 21, 2020.
On May 31, 2020, Williams was arrested for burglary, rioting and looting during the George Floyd riots. The teenager allegedly kicked in a car window and spit on police officers. Those charges were later dismissed on September 18, 2020. Krasner’s office again dismissed drug charges against Williams from a separate arrest earlier this year.
Williams is wanted for murder and has yet to be apprehended.
As National File reported last month, 2021 is already the deadliest year on record for the city of Philadelphia, which had recorded over 500 homicides with more than a month remaining in the year.