for BigTrial.net
The gun-toting teenage criminal accused of firing the stray shot that killed a man who was eating Thanksgiving dinner with his family in Norristown should have been in prison.
That's because the suspect, Kevon Clarke, 19, of Norristown, with a lengthy rap sheet, was previously arrested on May 26th, and charged with carrying an unlicensed firearm, plus carrying firearms in public.
Only 13 days earlier, Clarke had been convicted of possessing a firearm in juvenile court. But after his May 26th arrest, on Nov. 3rd, in a guilty plea that was negotiated in record speed, the D.A.'s office under Larry Krasner gave Clarke a sentence of six to 23 months in the county jail, plus three years probation.
The deal amounted to a fake sentence, because as part of the negotiated plea bargain, D.A.'s office offered Clarke immediate parole, even though he had served less than his minimum sentence of six months after he pleaded guilty to a gun crime.
Clarke could have been sentenced to one to two years in state prison because he was a repeat offender. But thanks to the sweetheart deal arranged by the D.A.'s office under Krasner, on Nov. 3rd, Clarke got to walk immediately.
A veteran prosecutor who reviewed Clarke's court records said that a suspect going from arrest to a negotiated guilty plea in little over five months was incredibly fast; only one out of a hundred gun cases in the D.A.'s office, the veteran prosecutor estimated, are handled that quickly.
In negotiating the sweetheart deal with Clarke, the district attorney's office under Krasner also ignored three recent arrests that violated the terms of Clarke's juvenile supervision based on a previous May 2019 gun arrest.
If the D.A.'s office had done its job and prosecuted Clarke for violating the terms of his supervision as a juvenile, the veteran prosecutor said, instead of letting Clarke walk, he would have been in prison on Thanksgiving. And he would have had to stay there all the way until Christmas, 2023.
"Instead of seeking justice or protecting the community," said the veteran prosecutor who sought anonymity, the focus in the D.A.'s office under Krasner in this case was, "how quickly can we get this guy out of jail; that's the only motivation in how they resolved this case."
As far as the veteran prosecutor was concerned, giving a sweetheart deal to an armed and dangerous criminal like Clarke was just plain "ridiculous."
Clarke's case was similar to the case just last month of another armed and dangerous teenager. Police had previously arrested Latif Williams, 17, on Aug. 14th for an armed carjacking but the D.A.'s office under Krasner withdrew the case, dropping a total of eight charges against the suspect.
It was the fourth time in a row that Williams had been arrested over a three-year period, only to have the D.A. drop the charges.
On Nov. 28th, according to police, Williams attempted to carjack another victim. But according to police, Samuel Collington, a 21-year-old Temple University student, fought back, so Williams allegedly shot Collington twice in the chest. He died a half hour later.
Despite his youthful age, Clarke is another veteran criminal with a rap sheet that features eight arrests, the first of which happened in 2016, when he was 15, for simple assault.
On Dec. 13th, Clarke was arrested by the U.S. Marshall's Fugitive Task Force after they found him hiding out on Whitby Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia. He was charged with first-degree murder, third degree murder, reckless endangerment, plus two gun charges.
On Thanksgiving Day, police said, Clarke, his girlfriend and two friends were kicked out of another Thanksgiving celebration in Norristown. According to the Inquirer, the host of the party accused Clarke's girlfriend of stealing liquor bottles from their home.
The girlfriend was supposed to return the liquor. But when the girlfriend's cousin arrived at Clarke's home to pick up the booze, Clarke came outside brandishing a gun. The cousin decided to flee. As she drove off, she heard multiple shots.
According to police, one of those shots ripped though a kitchen window and struck Edilberto Miguel Pelaez Moctezuma, 25, in the torso as was sitting at the table eating Thanksgiving dinner with his family.
The victim was flown to Penn Presbyterian, where he was pronounced dead.
According to reporter Steve Keeley of Fox 29, detectives subsequently found seven .40 caliber shell casings, six 9 mm shell casings, and one live round in the vicinity of the crime scene.
When he was arrested On May 26th as an adult, Clarke was still under supervision for his crimes as a juvenile.
As a juvenile, he was arrested on Sept. 19, 2017 and charged with terroristic threats and aggravated assault, in addition to other charges, but the D.A.'s office withdrew the case, and dropped all 13 charges against him.
On May 8, 2019, police arrested Clarke and charged him with carrying unlicensed firearms, carrying firearms in public, possession of a firearm by a minor, and conspiracy.
On May 12, 2021, Clarke was found an to be an adjudicated delinquent, the equivalent of a guilty plea, on the charge of possession of a firearm by a minor. Under terms of the agreement, the D.A.'s office withdrdew all the other charges.
Court records show that Clarke had an inability to stay out of trouble. On four occasions from May 12, 2017 until July 11, 2019, Clarke was taken off of a GPS and had to be placed back in custody.
On July 10, 2019, police arrested Clarke again for carrying unlicensed firearms, possession of a firearm by a minor, carrying firearms in public, and conspiracy. But on Aug. 22, 2019, all the charges against Clarke were withdrawn by the D.A.'s office.
On July 16, 2020, Clarke was arrested again in Montgomery County for disorderly conduct, and public drunkenness; on July 27, 2020, he pleaded guilty to both charges.
On Jan 14, 2021, police arrested Clarke again and charged him with indecent assault, but on Sept, 8, 2021, the D.A.'s office under Krasner dropped the charge.
The D.A.'s office gave Clarke immediate parole on Nov. 3rd. Just 22 days later on Thanksgiving Day, Clarke was accused of murdering Edilberto Miguel Pelaez Moctezuma.
"They don't care about public safety," the veteran prosecutor said about the D.A.'s office under Larry Krasner.
"They only care about emptying the jails."
"...the district attorney's office under Krasner also ignored three recent arrests that violated..."
ReplyDeleteLar-Lar ignores a lot and is quite good at the ignorings:
-He ignores he real estate taxes
-He ignores 500+ dead mostly black and brown bodies
-He ignores the victims and their families
-He ignores the spirit and rules surrounding campaign finance too!
But the so does The Inquirer, which has a long, shameful history of ignoring a great deal on a national and regional level...
AND what's more: Jim Kenney lies like a fly with a booger in he eye!
ReplyDeleteDoes this really surprise anyone anymore?
ReplyDeleteIf it does, they are not aware of the factual reality in Philly now. Much like the rest of the Nation, the city is a very sick place now.
DeletePeople need to start filling wrongful death suites against this asshole and the city when a career criminal gets a free pass and kills one of their family members. Just maybe if Krasner is bombarded with lawsuits he will get the message.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it's possible to successfully sue a public official based upon his or her 'judgement' calls.
DeleteI'm afraid that the only way that this horrible situation is going to even start to turn around would be at the next election assuming Krasner is defeated by someone who really cares about Philadelpiia, the safety of her citizens, guests and working commuters.
But Krasner and Company (and probably some of the judiciary) have clearly gone out of their way to favor black criminals. It's a fact, Jack!
Philadelphia is 40% black, and many are voters. Since blacks have been bitterly complaining about what they regard as unjust police activities / arrests / imprisonments, it's unlikely - IMHO - that anything constructive is going to happen in the near term.
Now, if Philadelphia had a real newspaper.....
Agree completely. Written objections are inadequate. Direct action is needed. The people have suffered enough.
DeleteLatif Williams - the 17 year old kid who allegedly murdered that Temple senior student - will be arraigned on December 20th. This time, he'll have two pubic defenders - not just one - both paid by the (working) taxpayers in Philadelphia. Nice, huh?
ReplyDeleteAs Ralph had mentioned, Krasner gave Williams a pass earlier this year for almost the same crime because key witnesses supposedly did not show up in court. Wonder how that happened - court screw up, witness intimidation, no one rats out a 'brother' - your guess is as good as mine.
The only difference this time is that a preventable 'murder' has been added to the list of charges.
Take a look at the City of Philadelphia's 2021 budget and you'll note that over a million dollars has been added to the Public Defender's fund. Guess they're anticipating more 'business' for their fellow lawyers.
The consummate irony is that Philadelphians pay taxes, portions of which support the police and the district attorney's office and they are still not safe because Klown Krasner and his Kronies are unwilling to live up to their own sworn responsibilities and vigorously enforce the law.
As for the Inky...'zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz'.
The Inquirer, other media, will not act until the violence and murder start appearing in Margate or the Hamptons or Malibu or Singer Island or wherever the rich, well protected enclave themself.
DeleteUntil then, the poor Black and Brown peoples will just haave to be suffering and dying.
...might add robbing, shooting and murdering..to this narrative
DeleteAccording to the courts, Latif Williams' next day in court will be 3/1/2022 because his public defenders requested a continuation. One can believe with a high degree of certainty that his two (taxpayer funded)defense attorneys are cooking something (unsavory) up. They might just be looking for an innocent kindergarten picture.
ReplyDelete