This is a dreadful story and a prime example of the asinine policy of releasing even a young criminals due to fears that the poor fellows would get the Chinese virus while awaiting trial.
From WUSA-9:
Rape suspect who was freed due to coronavirus kills his accuser in Alexandria, police say
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Police in Virginia say that a rape suspect released from jail in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic went on to kill the woman who had accused him.
The Washington Post reports that Ibrahm E. Bouaichi was tracked down by authorities on Wednesday. But he shot himself and was in grave condition on Thursday.
Bouaichi was indicted last year on charges that included rape, strangulation and abduction. He was jailed without bond in Alexandria.
The woman testified against him in Alexandria District Court in December.
When the pandemic hit, Bouaichi’s lawyers argued that he should be freed awaiting trial because the virus endangered both inmates and their attorneys. He was released on $25,000 bond over the objections of a prosecutor.
Circuit Court Judge Nolan Dawkins released Bouaichi on the condition that he only leave his Maryland home to meet with his lawyers or pretrial services officials. [What! No ankle monitor, no nothing!—ed]
Alexandria police say that Bouaichi, 33, fatally shot the woman in late July.
Authorities said that federal marshals and Alexandria police spotted and pursued Bouaichi in Prince George’s County on Wednesday. He crashed his vehicle and apparently shot himself, authorities said.
Judge Dawkins retired in June. He did not respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment. Judges are often prohibited from commenting on pending cases.
Bouaichi’s attorneys, Manuel Leiva and Frank Salvato said in a statement that they were “certainly saddened by the tragedy both families have suffered here.” [BFD! Saddened, that’s all!—ed]
[….]
Police said the woman was a native of Venezuela and did not have family in this country.
See the video attached to this story for more details.
And also see the UK Daily Mail which has a photo of the poor woman.
And, get this! He had been released in April on COVID fears, had a run-in with police in May and then went on to allegedly murder the Venezuelan woman in July.
Here is what the Daily Mail says about the May incident:
Bouaichi did have another run in with the law prior to the shooting, when in May he was arrested by Greenbelt police after they received a holdup alarm at a Wendy’s restaurant.
Responding officers say Bouaichi was acting strangely in the drive-thru and became uncooperative with police.
He was arrested and charged with two count of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, harming a law enforcement dog, resisting arrest, driving while intoxicated and multiple traffic charges.
He was released from Maryland jail on May 11, with Alexandria officials saying that they would have revoked his bond had they known about the incident.
That is disgusting. We know that Maryland is soft of criminals, especially immigrant criminals, but this is an outrage even for Maryland.