Video – Attorney Spencer Freeman Comments On Why Bail Was Possibly Set Too Low After First-Degree Assault With Two Weapons. Care to Guess?

Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media

“I’d like to talk about an issue that’s been in the news lately. And that is, an incident that occurred at a convenience store, actually fairly close to your office, over on Sprague Avenue in Tacoma (Washington). If you recall, the issue was an individual, a defendant, now a suspect, walked into the convenience store, got into an argument with somebody in the store, pulled out a screwdriver, argument continued. They went outside, he tripped over a bike, he pulled out a gun and shot at that individual, then shot several shots into the air, got into a car and drove off.

Now, they investigated that, the local authorities-the sheriff’s department, investigated the situation. Arrested the individual. But the reason it caught my attention was…he was released on a $5,000 bond. That’s what I could not believe when I read the article. Because the charges are first-degree assault, but it is only a $5,000 bond. And this person had a screwdriver and a weapon, a firearm, which he discharged. That’s two deadly weapons.”

Spencer Freeman – Criminal Defense Attorney – Pierce County, WA

“Yeah, it’s pretty shocking. And from a public policy perspective and a public protection perspective, it should be something that should be highlighted and looked at. You do have a class A felony that’s been charged. But in addition to that, this gentleman was under an order of protection from the Superior Court, and in that order of protection, he was ordered not to carry a firearm.”

Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media

“That’s right, I remember that.”

Spencer Freeman – Criminal Defense Attorney – Pierce County, WA

“Right. So now you’ve got a gentleman whose clearly not going to abide by court orders and clearly going to take actions that significantly threaten the community around him. And yet, he’s released on merely $5,000. We’ve been facing this, and the community doesn’t even realize the Bail Reform efforts that have been going on to reduce the price of bail and the cost of bail, significantly. Including, whether or not bail bonds should be involved at all. But what they aren’t realizing is that this places the community at significant risk. This gentleman, not too hard to post out on that $5,000 for him, and he’s out in society, clearly not willing to abide by court orders. As opposed to, historically, we used to see, in that type of case, bail bonds…bail set at the $100,000 to $200,000 range, which is much more protective of society. I think the community is not even aware that these issues are going on.”

Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media

“Well, one last question. Is there any possibility…let’s just run this scenario out a moment. He’s out on a $5,000 bond. He hurts somebody else. Does that person have any course of action against the county for failing to keep that individual inside. And I make the analogy of the individuals, suing gun manufacturers, who lost family members.”

Spencer Freeman – Criminal Defense Attorney – Pierce County, WA

“No. There’s judicial immunity. This is a decision by the court. This is a decision by the judge. The judge has immunity. They’re not going to hold the judge accountable…not monetarily, maybe politically in the next election. But you’re not going to hold the judge accountable. And I’m sure that the prosecutors requested much more significant bail than $5,000. This was a decision by the judge.”

Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media

“Okay. We’re going to follow that. Thank you for your time.”

Spencer Freeman – Criminal Defense Attorney – Pierce County, WA

“All right. Thank you.”