Latest Legal News from the Criminal Courts of Los Angeles, California and the U.S.

July 27, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO MAN INDICTED FOR FAILING TO REPORT TO PRISON

After Absconding, Waddell Williams Allegedly Shot at Police Officers

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal grand jury in San Francisco on Tuesday indicted Waddell Williams on felony charges of failure to surrender for service of sentence and contempt of court, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.

In November, a U.S. District Court Judge ordered Williams, 33, of San Francisco, to self-report to the U.S. Marshal on Dec. 26, 2008, to begin serving a four-month prison sentence for violating the terms of his supervised release. According to the Indictment, Williams, who had been ordered released on a $50,000 unsecured appearance bond, did not surrender on that date.

Williams was arrested by San Francisco Police Officers on June 25 and charged by the San Francisco District Attorney’s office with multiple counts of attempted first degree murder, assault with a firearm on a police officer and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Those charges arise from gunshots fired at San Francisco Police Officers on June 25 while the officers were responding to a call at a motel on Lombard Street.

Williams is in state custody awaiting trial and is being held on $3 million bail.

The maximum statutory penalty for failure to surrender for sentencing in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 3146(a)(2) is five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. There is no statutory maximum penalty for criminal contempt of court. Any sentence following conviction, however, would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Nat Cousins is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Rosario Calderon. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Marshal Service and U.S. Probation Office.

Please note, an indictment contains only allegations. Like all defendants, Mr. Williams must be presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Further Information:

Case #: CR 09-0734 MHP (new Indictment) and CR 04-0257 PJH (underlying federal conviction)

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.

Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

Judges’ calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court’s website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Jack Gillund at (415) 436-6599 or by email at Jack.Gillund@usdoj.gov.

This site does not contain all press releases or court filings and is not an official record of proceedings. Please contact the Clerk of Courts for the United States District Court for official copies of documents and public information.

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CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER

JOSEPH SHEMARIA

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Latest Legal News from the Criminal Courts of Los Angeles, California and the U.S.