Seattle’s first homicide suspect in 2023 is repeat offender previously released by progressive bail fund

Last Wednesday, a King County judge found probable cause to hold Allister Clinton Baldwin, 46, in jail for the brutal Jan. 2 murder of Ivette Wallin, who lived at the Canaday House in South Lake Union.

The facility is operated by the Department of Emergency Services for the local homeless population and earlier that day had fentanyl exposure among the residents at another local facility. First responders were also exposed and taken to the emergency room for treatment and evaluation. The agency's facilities held the majority of the top 20 destinations of Seattle Fire Department responses in 2022 including the top 3 spots.

According to court documents obtained by The Post Millennial, the victim “suffered an extreme amount of physical trauma. Injuries inflicted on the victim were both blunt and sharp force in nature. She had multiple broken ribs, broken fingers, and blunt-force trauma to her face and forehead. Sharp force injuries included multiple wounds to the victim’s neck and back, wounds that punctured areas of both her rib cage and her neck.”

“A folding knife that appeared to be covered in blood was recovered near the victim’s foot” along with drug paraphernalia.

According to the King County prosecutor, “The defendant’s history of sexual assault and the nature of his actions, in this case, demonstrate that he is likely to continue to commit acts of violence and, as a result, he is a danger to the community.”

Baldwin was arrested in 2020 in a domestic violence incident involving another woman and the Northwest Community Bail Fund posted cash bail to get him released until his trial. The charges against Baldwin were dropped when the victim refused to testify.

The nonprofit Northwest Community Bail Fund solicits donations from the public and routinely bails out people accused of violent crimes, many of whom are repeat offenders.

In 2022, the fund put up bail for Kylan Houle on two pending felony gun charges. Several months later police said Houle broke into a home and shot a father of four.

Last year, Michael Sedejo was in jail and charged with assault and robbery until the Northwest Community Bail Fund paid for his release, pending trial. A month later Sedejo was charged with stabbing a man to death at City Hall Park, the site of a former notorious homeless encampment.

According to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, almost 52 percent of the defendants bailed out by the fund since mid-2020 failed to appear for their court dates, compared to 22 percent of defendants who failed to show up that did not receive the fund’s assistance.

Over 20 percent of those the bail fund helped release were later charged with a new felony as compared to 15 percent of defendants who posted bail without the fund.

According to their website, the progressive group "...is dedicated to ending cash bail and pretrial detention in Washington State," and currently operates in King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties.

The Northwest Community Bail fund told KOMO News in a statement, "Decisions about fulfilling a request for bail assistance are made on an individual basis and by team consensus, with a focus on reducing harm. Factors that may influence decisions will vary over time and circumstances, for example, availability of funds and Covid outbreaks in jail. Factors that may play a part in our decisions include but are not limited to ability to afford bail amount, health factors, pregnancy, the impending loss of job, housing or shelter bed, race, gender status (and) separation of families."