TAMPA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - The Hillsborough County sheriff is the defendant in a Florida lawsuit that complains a criminal shot and killed a man after being released from custody as part of a mass inmate release during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Estate of Christopher Striker filed a wrongful death lawsuit March 29 against Sheriff Chad Chronister in Hillsborough Circuit Court. The suit complains Joseph Williams was freed from custody in March 2020 while facing felony and misdemeanor drug charges under guidance that allowed his release if he was deemed not to be a danger to the public.
The suit says Williams had an "extensive criminal history" that included more than 35 charges. That history featured burglary, violence against a law enforcement officer and possession of a firearm, it adds.
Williams was charged with second-degree murder after allegedly firing a gun into a crowd of people on March 20, 2020. Striker was killed as a result, but prosecutors dropped the criminal charges due to lack of evidence.
Striker's estate's lawyer, Lee Pearlman of Denmon Pearlman, will try to impose liability in the civil justice system. The suit claims Sheriff Chronister was negligent in releasing Williams, failing to perform a background check of his entire criminal history and failing to warn Hillsborough County residents.