Discussion:
Idiot Judge! - "Catch & release" for armed robbers - Montrell Hatfield
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a425couple
2022-04-12 16:42:04 UTC
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Idiot Judge! - "Catch & release" for armed robbers - Montrell Hatfield
Keep releasing until they do murder?!
And in a recent Shoreline case they released a murder suspect.

from
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/seattle-police-arrest-15-year-old-wanted-in-deadly-tacoma-pot-shop-robbery-2-remain-at-large/

Seattle police arrest 15-year-old wanted in deadly Tacoma pot shop
robbery; 2 suspects remain at large
April 11, 2022 at 8:01 pm Updated April 11, 2022 at 8:13 pm

Montrell Hatfield, 16, has been charged with first-degree murder in a
fatal shooting at a Tacoma pot shop in March. (Courtesy Tacoma Police)

Sara Jean Green By Sara Jean Green
Seattle Times staff reporter

One of two juvenile suspects wanted in connection with the fatal
shooting of an employee at a Tacoma marijuana store in March was
arrested by Seattle police in Kent on Monday, less than a week after he
and two accomplices allegedly committed a smash-and-grab, takeover
robbery at a West Seattle jewelry store, according to Seattle police.

The 15-year-old boy was arrested by robbery detectives outside the
Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, said Sgt. Randy Huserik. He was
turned over to Tacoma police and booked into Remann Hall Juvenile
Detention Center, according to Huserik and Officer Wendy Haddow, a
Tacoma police spokesperson.

On March 24, Pierce County prosecutors charged the 15-year-old boy and
Montrell Hatfield, 16, with first-degree murder in connection with the
March 19 fatal shooting of Jordan Brown, 29, during an armed robbery at
World of Weed on East Portland Avenue in Tacoma, court records show. A
third suspect, who acted as a lookout during the robbery, has yet to be
identified.

Hatfield remains at large. He is described as a Black male, 5-feet-5,
130 pounds with black hair and brown eyes, and a prosthetic right leg
that causes him to walk with a limp, according to Pierce County
prosecutors. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to
call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or 911.

All three are suspected of committing at least 10 armed robberies in
Pierce and King counties in recent months, according to the charges
filed in the Tacoma murder case.

The 15-year-old and Hatfield were charged in King County Juvenile Court
in February in connection with an armed robbery at a Federal Way
pawnshop, but were released from detention and placed on electronic home
monitoring over objections from prosecutors, said Casey McNerthney, a
spokesman for Prosecutor Dan Satterberg. Both cut off their monitoring
devices on March 16 and warrants were issued for their arrests,
McNerthney said.

The Seattle Times does not typically name juvenile defendants unless
they are charged as adults.

Under state law, 16- and 17-year-olds can automatically be charged as
adults for serious violent crimes like first-degree murder and
first-degree rape. For teens younger than 16, prosecutors can request
what is known as a decline hearing and a judge ultimately decides
whether to keep the case in juvenile court or decline juvenile
jurisdiction and transfer the case to adult court.

It wasn’t immediately clear on Monday whether Pierce County prosecutors
have requested a decline hearing for the 15-year-old in the murder case.

In 2018, first-degree robbery was among a handful of crimes that were
removed from the list of what are known as auto-decline offenses and
extended juvenile jurisdiction for those specific crimes from age 21 to
age 25.

The two boys are suspects in the Feb. 22 robbery of Elite Pawn, located
in the 29100 block of Pacific Highway South in Federal Way. The owner
called 911 just before 3:30 p.m. to report a robbery in progress, say
the charges filed in King County Juvenile Court.

Federal Way police arrived and learned three male suspects had just
driven off in a vehicle, say the charges. From witness statements and
video footage, detectives determined three armed suspects entered the
store and ordered employees and customers onto the floor. One of the
suspects forced the store’s manager to the safe, where the manager put
$20,000 in cash and jewelry into a bag the suspect provided, the charges
say.

Meanwhile, the suspect later identified as the 15-year-old fired a round
into a wall and forced an employee to empty the till, placing $10,000
into a plastic bag the teen provided, charging papers say.

As the three suspects drove away, a customer fired a gun at the fleeing
vehicle, which crashed into another car but continued north on Pacific
Highway South. Police found the abandoned car at a park-and-ride lot a
mile away and witnesses told officers that the suspects had fled into a
nearby apartment complex, the charges say.

Hatfield and the 15-year-old were arrested and police recovered $24,000
in cash and 98 pieces of jewelry, the charges say. The third suspect
evaded capture.

At their first court appearance on Feb. 24, Chief Juvenile Judge Averil
Rothrock ordered Hatfield and the 15-year-old released on electronic
home detention, court records show.

Just after 10 p.m. on March 19, Tacoma police responded to a report of
an armed robbery and shooting at World of Weed, where they found an
employee unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the neck, say the Pierce
County charges. He died at the scene.

Based on witness statements and video surveillance footage, police
learned two suspects entered the store, ordered everyone to the floor,
and provided plastic bags to employees, the charges say.

One of the suspects, later identified as Hatfield, fired a warning shot
into the ceiling and got into a fight with an employee, grappling with
him on the floor, say the charges. At that point, the second suspect —
later identified as the 15-year-old — leaned over the counter and fired
a round, hitting the employee in the throat, according to charging papers.

The two suspects and a third suspect who had acted as a lookout
apparently drove off in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, say the charges.

During the investigation, Tacoma police detectives discovered there were
ongoing investigations into a string of marijuana dispensary robberies
in King and Pierce counties and that the modus operandi was the same in
all of them, say the charges.

Around 5:20 p.m. Wednesday, three armed suspects entered Bellevue Rare
Coins in the West Seattle Junction and ordered employees to lie down on
the floor, according to Huserik and an incident report posted to the
Seattle Police Department’s online blotter. They made off with $12,000
and several pieces of jewelry, according to police.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or ***@seattletimes.com;
a425couple
2022-04-12 16:49:59 UTC
Permalink
Post by a425couple
Idiot Judge! - "Catch & release" for armed robbers - Montrell Hatfield
Keep releasing until they do murder?!
And in a recent Shoreline case they released a murder suspect.
from
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/seattle-police-arrest-15-year-old-wanted-in-deadly-tacoma-pot-shop-robbery-2-remain-at-large/
Seattle police arrest 15-year-old wanted in deadly Tacoma pot shop
robbery; 2 suspects remain at large
April 11, 2022 at 8:01 pm Updated April 11, 2022 at 8:13 pm
another story on it:
https://mynorthwest.com/3407836/judge-released-teens-pot-shop-murder-lenient-sentencing/

Judge who released teen robbery suspects linked to pot shop murder has
history of lenient sentencing
Mar 25, 2022, 2:20 PM

Pot shop robbery...
Marshon Jones and Montrell Hatfield in security camera footage during a
fatal pot shop robbery on March 19. (Tacoma Police Department)
Share
BY DORI MONSON SHOW
Weekdays on KIRO Newsradio 12pm-3pm

Barely a month ago, a King County judge sent two teens home under “house
arrest” with electronic ankle monitors, after they were arrested for
allegedly pistol-whipping and robbing the owner of a busy Federal Way
pawn shop.

Now, the boys – who police say cut off their court-ordered ankle devices
– are being sought in last week’s deadly robbery of a man working in
Tacoma cannabis store.

Sources told The Dori Monson Show that, despite their young age, the
suspects are considered “armed and dangerous.” Detectives from several
police agencies believe the boys are connected to four other pot shop
robberies in King and Pierce counties. Court documents show one suspect
has a right prosthetic leg and moves with an obvious limp.

According to Tacoma Police, the 15- and 16-year-old boys are sought in
last Saturday’s slaying of Jordan Brown, 29, of Gig Harbor. Brown was a
graphic designer working at World of Weed in Tacoma during the cannabis
and cash heist.

And now, The Dori Monson Show has learned, the King County juvenile
court judge who released the boys to home detention “with adult
supervision” has a history of handing down exceptionally low sentences.

In the Federal Way pawn shop robbery, Judge Averil Rothrock, chief of
King County Juvenile Court, ignored prosecutors who asked her to place
the teen suspects in juvenile detention. Attorneys cited the violent
attacks on customers and the store owner in their arguments.

It’s not the first time the judge has ignored such pleas. Rothrock, who
was originally appointed to the King County Superior Court bench by
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in 2018, is also connected to another
high-profile case.


Shortly after her appointment, Rothrock presided over the case of Alrick
Hollingsworth. At age 18, Hollingsworth went on the run for five months
after shooting five people – some of them randomly – near downtown
Seattle’s Pike and Pine streets on Third Avenue in late 2016. The melee
occurred in a crowd of rush-hour commuters and protestors gathering for
a rally in nearby Westlake Park.

In that case, Rothrock sentenced Hollingsworth, by then 20, to nine
years in prison – six years less than the 15-year sentence sought by
prosecutors. It was also three years less than the standard sentencing
range. At the time, it was considered an “exceptionally lenient
sentence” by prosecutors and law enforcement. With good behavior and
time served, Hollingsworth could be released in about two years.

Before handing down the sentence, the judge told him she could see that
he was “unsure” and “stressed” at the time of the shooting.


“A standard sentence range is not necessary to give Mr. Hollingsworth an
opportunity to improve himself,” Rothrock told that court. “He will
mature from a teenager into an adult while serving this court sentence.”

The judge also put part of the responsibility for Hollingsworth’s
actions on “the community.”

“The struggle in your community with gangs and gun violence matters to
me – and our entire community shares responsibility for that struggle,”
Rothrock said.

Meanwhile, warrants were issued last Thursday for Marshon Jones, 15, and
Montrell D. Hatfield, in connection with severing the ankle monitors and
with the Federal Way pawn shop robbery. KIRO Newsradio does not
typically identify juvenile suspects who have not yet been charged with
a crime; in this case they are being named because they are still on the
loose and considered “armed and dangerous” by police.


While they’re still at large, the pawn shop owner is so concerned for
his employees’ safety he refused to be identified in his interview with
Dori. However, he did tell Dori’s listeners about the attack – including
having a gun held to his head.

With all that has transpired, Dori asked him, what would you say to
Judge Rothrock?

“What is she thinking? I don’t even know a single person who believes
that her judgement was correct. We want to be safe in our society. What
signal does that send to the rest of our society? What signal does that
send to criminals?” the business owner responded.

And while too “heartbroken” to do an interview, Jordan Brown’s father,
Dennis Brown of Gig Harbor, told Dori by phone that he is proud of his
son’s accomplishments, but is “devastated” by his son’s murder and the
way this case has unfolded.

Jordan, Dennis said, leaves a brother and sister who also deeply loved him.

“He was ambitious graphic designer and musician who needed to have a
side gig to pursue his talent.”

Listen to Dori Monson weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on KIRO
Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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