With Inky's Help, D.A. Krasner Keeps Lying About Gun Crimes

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

On the afternoon of Jan. 3, 2019, Bernard Giddings was driving a car load of would-be assassins toward Audenried High School.

As Giddings drove past the corner of 31st and Tasker Street, a block away from the school where students had just been let out, three armed passengers leaned out the windows of a white Chevy Malibu and opened fire from close range on a crowd of nine juveniles.

A 16 year-old male who heard five gunshots saw three bullet holes rip through the jacket he was carrying, but miraculously, that was the extent of the reported injuries. Cops found four 9 mm casings at the crime scene. Due to some good police work, the cops were able to track down and arrest both Giddings and Andre Presley, a passenger in the Chevy who admitted to being one of the shooters. 

When it comes to gun crimes, Giddings and Presley, both 25, were multiple offenders. Giddings had one prior gun arrest, while Presley had two prior gun arrests. After he was involved in that drive-byshooting, however, Giddings served only 20 months in jail before he was back out on the street again. 

What did he do with his newfound freedom? Last week, police arrested Giddings for the third time on a gun charge, after they searched his house and found a loaded Smith & Wesson .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol under his bed.

In an interview that he gave The Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday, District Attorney Larry Krasner would have you believe that when it comes to committing gun crimes, repeat offenders like Giddings and Presley are an anomaly. But according to a veteran prosecutor who sought anonymity, "The way Giddings and Presley's cases were handled proves that Krasner's lying to the public."

"The people being arrested with guns are the people running around and shooting them," the veteran prosecutor said. "They are not the exception, they are the rule."

Indeed, statistics previously compiled by Big Trial for one month's worth of gun crimes, July of 2019, showed that out of the 231 men who got arrested for gun crimes that month, 51, or 22%, did actually go out and commit more alleged crimes of violence such as gunpoint robberies, armed carjackings, and rape, as well as a half-dozen murders. 

By following Giddings and Presley through the criminal justice system, court and police records show, on multiple occasions, Giddings and Presley received one break after another from the D.A.'s office under Larry Krasner, in the form of low bail, looking the other way on probation violations, and lenient sentences.

That's why both men repeatedly landed back on the streets, so they could commit more crimes. But before we get to Giddings and Presley, it's time once again to take the paper of record to task for their continuing softball coverage of Krasner.

CRIMES AGAINST JOURNALISM

The Inquirer got off to a good start in their most recent gun crimes story by posting statistics showing that since 2017, the year before Krasner took office, the number of arrests by cops for gun crimes has nearly tripled. This year, the city is on a pace to hit more than 3,000 arrests for illegal gun possession, the newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, the conviction rate for gun crimes has plunged from 63% in 2017 to 49% in 2019.

Left unsaid was that the man most responsible for all of this is the city's highest-ranking law enforcement officer, District Attorney Larry Krasner.

Next, the Inquirer interviewed Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, who talked about a "revolving door" for repeat gun offenders, and complained that in Philadelphia, there are "no consequences" for carrying illegal guns.

But, the Inquirer reported, Outlaw refused to criticize "her top partner in Philadelphia law enforcement," Larry Krasner. And nobody from the Inquirer bothered to ask her why.

Next up, Krasner was interviewed by his progressive pals at the Inquirer, and he was allowed to make one excuse after another about why the city was experiencing a record number of shootings and murders.

Keep in mind that Philadelphia had 499 murders last year, the highest total in 30 years. And this year, with 120 murders as of yesterday, we're on a pace for 624 murders, which would be an all-time record.

In the nation, only Chicago, with more than a million additional residents than Philadelphia, has more murders this year; as of Wednesday, Chicago had 134 murders. 

In the Inky story, Krasner blamed the local epidemic of gun violence on the cops, for submitting cases with weaker evidence; on judges for tossing more cases; and on witnesses to gun violence, because they're not showing up in court.

Krasner didn't mention that his prosecutors, mostly former public defenders and social justice warriors, are inexperienced and incompetent at prosecuting crime. This may factor in to why Krasner's office is not winning more cases in court, or why judges are tossing more of the D.A.'s cases. 

Now let's talk about witnesses to crime, and their increasing failure to show up in court. Ask yourself why would anybody want to risk their neck testifying against an armed and dangerous alleged criminal who will probably be back out on the street today or tomorrow?

Next, the Inky allowed Krasner to go off on a diversionary tactic that featured a philosophical speech about the "long-standing structural problems that drive people toward picking up a gun."

In his soliloquy, Professor Krasner pontificated about underfunded schools, poor neighborhoods long neglected by government, and finally, systemic racism in the criminal justice system. 

“Yes, enforcement is a small part of the story," Krasner lectured his favorite news outlet. "The big part of the story is not that. The big part of the story is this city’s chronic failure to invest in prevention that the community is crying out for. That is where we have to go.”

It was a textbook example of passing the buck. And not once during six consecutive paragraphs of excuses that the Inquirer printed from Krasner did the D.A. ever look in the mirror and blame himself, or his progressive policies at the D.A.'s office. 

And not once did Krasner's official enablers at the Inquirer call him on it. 

While we're listing sins against journalism, the Inquirer apparently forgot that there's a reelection campaign on for D.A. And that on May 18th, Krasner, whom the local Democratic party has declined to endorse, is facing a challenger for the Democratic nomination for D.A., Carlos Vega, a career homicide prosecutor.

Did the Inquirer talk to Vega and get his views on the record amount of gun crimes? Nope. That's because the Inquirer is actively engaged in slanting the news, and protecting Krasner, so he can cruise to reelection.

But Vega does have an opinion about the subject of record gun violence that he doesn't mind sharing. 

Vega said the case of Bernard Giddings and Andre Presley was a "classic example of why we have the record shooting rate and the record murder rate that we do, and why we're looking at an even higher death rate this year."

Krasner is "refusing to admit that there's a problem and refusing to competently prosecute these cases," Vega said.

"The city needs a prosecutor not a social worker."

THE RAP SHEET FOR BERNARD GIDDINGS 

On April 11, 2018, Bernard Giddings was arrested for the first time on a gun charge. He was charged with six offenses, including possession of a firearm with altered manufacturer's number, carrying unlicensed firearms, possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of a controlled substance, carrying firearms in public, and possession of an instrument of crime. 

The same day he was arrested, Giddings's bail was set at $150,000 monetary, meaning he'd have to put down a 10% deposit of $15,000 to get out of jail. 

But on April 26, 2018, his bail was lowered to $15,000 monetary, meaning he'd only have to post a 10% deposit of $1,500 to get out of jail.

Our veteran prosecutor took a dim view of that.

"Clearly the D.A.'s office did not fight to keep the bail when the case was now moving forward," he said. "Bail should only be lowered when you can't get the case on and you are asking for multiple continuances. They may have asked for high bail initially, but then did nothing to fight to keep it."

What does the D.A. have to say? As they have for the past 20 months now, District Attorney Krasner and Jane Roh, his official spokesperson, did not respond to a request for comment about the cases of Giddings and Presley. 

In a non-negotiated deal, Giddings pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with altered manufacturer's number, and the D.A.'s office agreed to drop the other five charges.

What was the grand result? Giddings got a light sentence of no jail time and just four years probation.

What did Giddings do with his new-found freedom?

On Jan. 3, 2019, Giddings, wearing a lime green shirt, was driving seen on surveillance video piloting his white 2008 Chevy Malibu near Audenried High School, when three armed passengers opened fire on nine juveniles. 

The shooters fired at the juveniles from a distance of between five and 10 feet, a police report says.

A day later, cops on a city-wide patrol alert pulled Giddings over in his Chevy for running a stop sign. Riding with Giddings as a passenger was Andre Presley. 

In a washing machine in the basement of Giddings's home, the cops found a lime green shirt. Giddings admitted he was in the area at the time of the shooting. 

On Jan. 5, 2019, the cops charged Giddings with nine offenses.  That same day his bail was set at $750,000.  He subsequently pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, possession of a prohibited firearm, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, and carrying unlicensed firearms.

The possession of a prohibited firearm charge involved Giddings being prohibited from carrying a gun because as an adult he was a convicted felon in a case that happened outside of Philadelphia, and does not appear on his local court record.

On Oct. 18, 2019 Judge Robert Coleman sentenced Giddings to three to six years in prison and four years probation. As part of the deal, the D.A. dropped five other charges, including three gun charges, simple assault, and reckless endangerment. 

With credit for time served, Giddings did a total of 20 months in jail, before he was paroled on Sept. 9, 2020. But when he got out jail, Giddings didn't change his ways.

On March 24th of this year, state police executed a search warrant at Giddings's home at 6:40 a.m. on 2510 S. Carroll Street. Under Giddings's bed, the cops found a black Smith & Wesson .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol with a fully loaded magazine of 15 rounds.

The cops also found a black Smith & Wesson extended magazine with 28 9 mm caliber rounds, and a blank Canik magazine with 10 9 mm rounds, plus a small amount of marijuana. 

The gun was stolen. Giddings told police he found it a week ago. 

Giddings was arrested again and charged with possession of a prohibited firearm and receiving stolen property.

THE RAP SHEET FOR ANDRE PRESLEY

Presley was first arrested on March 11, 2013, when he was 18. The D.A's office filed five charges against him, including carrying an unlicensed firearm. 

On June 25, 2015, when he was 20, Presley was found to be an adjudicated delinquent, on charges of possession of a firearm as a minor, a misdemeanor.

As part of the deal, the D.A.'s office withdrew four other charges, including carrying an unlicensed firearm, a felony, and three other misdemeanor charges, including carrying a firearm in public, possession of a weapon on school property, and terroristic threats.

On May 8, 2016, Presley was arrested a second time on gun charges. On May 8, 2016, his bail was set at $500,000 monetary, meaning it would have taken a 10% deposit of $50,000 to spring him out of jail.

But on May 23, 2016, his bail was lowered to $75,000 monetary, meaning it would only take a 10% deposit of $7,500 to get out of jail.

On June 1, 2016, Presley's bail was again changed, this time to $250,000 monetary, meaning it would cost him a 10% deposit of $25,000 to get out of jail. In addition, the judge ordered that Presley be placed on an electronic monitor.

On Dec. 6, 2016, Presley entered a negotiated guilty plea on charges of carrying an unlicensed firearm, possession of a prohibited firearm, and carrying firearms in public. His sentence was two to five years in jail and five years of probation. But he wound up at the Quehanna Boot Camp. 

When he got out of jail, Presley was still on probation for his previous 2016 gun arrest when he was arrested a third time on May 19, 2018. He was charged with possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of a firearm with an altered manufacturer's number, carrying a unlicensed firearm, and carrying a firearm in public.

 The D.A. could have revoked Presley's parole on the spot, because of his new arrest, and put him in jail. But on June 22, 2018, Presley got another break when the D.A. dismissed all four charges against Presley and he walked. 

On Jan. 4, 2019, the cops arrested Presley for the shooting episode outside Audrenried High School 

According to a police report, Presley waived his Miranda rights and confessed to cops that he was one of the passengers in the car who was seen on surveillance video hanging out of the car with a gun. Police also recovered a sweatshirt from Presley that matched the clothing worn by one of the shooters on video.

After his Jan. 5, 2019, arrest, the D.A. filed nine charges against Presley. On Oct. 28, 2019, he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, possession of a prohibited firearm, and carrying an unlicensed firearm. 

As part of the deal, the D.A. dropped five other charges, including three gun charges, simple assault, and reckless endangerment.

He was sentenced to 3 to 6 years in jail and five years probation for the shooting outside Audenried High, the same sentence that Giddings got.

Both sentences were below state sentencing guidelines that called for 4 to 8 years or 5 to 10 years in prison on the aggravated assault charge alone. In both cases, the sentencing guidelines could have been adjusted upwards because of the conspiracy and gun charges.

But the D.A.'s office under Larry Krasner gave both Giddings and Presley a break on a drive-by shooting that could have resulted in the multiple murders of high school students.

Why? Because that's just the way Uncle Larry rolls. And as the bodies continue to pile up, just don't expect the Inquirer to commit real journalism by ever holding the D.A. accountable.