Controversial bail fund once helped man suspected of Seattle's first murder of the year
SEATTLE, Wash. — The man in custody for Seattle’s first homicide of 2023 has previously been bailed out of jail by a nonprofit with a track record of assisting violent, repeat offenders.
On Wednesday a judge found probable cause to hold Allister Baldwin in jail for the grisly murder of Ivette Wallin, who lived at the Canaday House in South Lake Union. Police found a bloody knife and drug paraphernalia at the crime scene, according to court documents, and the victim had “signs of physical trauma and significant bleeding” from her neck and shoulder area.
Baldwin and the victim knew each other, and police characterized it as a domestic violence incident.
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Baldwin was non-responsive and refused to attend the court hearing on Wednesday.
“Now there's no question that he will stay in the King County Jail because his defense team did not get the chance to argue that he should be released,” said Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Baldwin, 46, was previously arrested in 2020 in a domestic violence incident involving another woman. The Northwest Community Bail Fund posted cash bail to help him go free until the trial began. Charges were later dropped when the victim refused to testify for the prosecution.
Baldwin could face first-degree murder charges in the latest case involving Wallin.
The Northwest Community Bail Fund is a nonprofit group that helps indigent defendants using donations from the public. However, the fund has been known to assist people accused of violent crimes, some of whom are repeat offenders.
In May, police said Kylan Houle broke into a Skyway home and shot the father of four who lived there. Months before the alleged murder, the fund put up bail for Houle’s release on two pending felony gun charges.
Last June, Michael Sedejo was charged with stabbing a man to death at City Hall Park. A month before the deadly crime, Sedejo was in jail and charged with assault and robbery until the Northwest Community Bail Fund paid for his release, pending trial.
“We hear this most from victims who come to us to say, 'What happened here? Why is this person out,'" McNerthney said.
Nearly 52% of the defendants bailed out by the fund since mid-2020 failed to appear for their court dates, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. That compares to 22% of defendants who failed to show up that didn’t get the fund’s help.
Also, among those the bail fund assisted, more than 20% were later charged with a new felony versus 15% of defendants who posted bail without the fund.
“The public needs to know why judges are making those orders to hold violent people because we don't want victims' voices to be lost," McNerthney said.
KOMO News requested an interview with the Northwest Community Bail fund but received a statement instead: