Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins says that a judge abused her discretion by releasing a defendant charged with murder, freeing the man on recognizance with certain conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The defendant, William Utley, had been scheduled to go to trial on Monday. Instead, Utley, who has three pending superior court cases, was released.

Rollins has petitioned a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to return Utley to jail pending his murder trial, saying the man poses a “grave risk to public safety," Rollins’ office wrote in a statement Tuesday.

Utley’s attorney, Michael Tumposky, argues that his client is safest on house arrest. He says his client is undergoing chemotherapy and is among the group at the highest risk for death or serious illness if he were to become sick with coronavirus.

“I fully understand the risk that COVID-19 poses to everyone, including people who are incarcerated,’’ Rollins said. “Mr. Utley, however, is accused of murdering someone while he was on pre-trial release for firearm charges and while on GPS monitoring. In addition to committing murder, in a separately charged incident he was also arrested for his 5th OUI, again, all while on pre-trial release with a GPS monitor for the aforementioned firearm charges."

Utley was arrested on Dec. 23, 2016, after allegedly shooting a Colt semi-automatic pistol into the air on Brookledge Street in Dorchester. He was arraigned January 2018 on multiple firearms charges and posted $8,500 bail. That case is scheduled to go to trial on June 1, Rollins’ office said.

While released on bail for the firearm charges and with GPS monitoring, Utley is accused of stabbing Anthony Young multiple times on March 25, 2018, Rollins said. The two had apparently argued at a Grove Hall bar.

At his arraignment in January 2019 on second-degree murder charges, Utley was ordered held without bail. That murder trial was slated to start Monday.

“But yesterday, instead of empaneling a jury for the trial seeking justice and accountability for Mr. Young and his mourning family, the Commonwealth was forced to file an emergency motion with the SJC pleading that they take a violent felon off the streets and return him back to custody where he belongs,” the statement read.

Prosecutors opposed a motion requesting reconsideration of bail in Utley’s case.

Utley’s attorney told the judge his defendant could post $11,000 bail. The judge released Utley on personal recognizance, the statement from Rollins’ office said.

As cases of COVID-19 spread across the country, the CDC has said that older adults and people with chronic health conditions are at a higher risk of developing serious illness from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

“The significant danger this defendant poses to the people of Suffolk County far outweighs any claims he is making of a personal health risk. Mr. Utley absolutely deserves appropriate medical care for his underlying health condition. But, that care must be provided within a correctional facility as he has proven that he is incapable of complying with conditions set to keep our community safe," Rollins’ office wrote in the statement.

Utley suffers from leukemia, according to his attorney.

“Releasing Mr. Utley’s and placing him on house arrest is in Mr. Utley’s best interest and the interests of the public at large,” Tumposky said. “At a time when hospitals are overrun with patients in need of critical care, it is important that those most likely to need that care isolate themselves from others so that they do not get sick. This includes those in prison and jail, who are unable to socially distance and who lack access to sufficient sanitation while in custody.”

Tumposky reiterated that his client is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

“Despite the DA’s conclusory comments to the contrary, Mr. Utley is presumed innocent of all these charges that he faces. With regards to the murder, the case against him is weak. There are no witnesses, no forensic evidence and no motive. Mr. Utley has consistently pushed for the case to be tried while the Commonwealth has repeatedly tried to delay it,” Tumposky said. “DA Rollins ran on a pledge to reform the criminal justice system. That reform must include a re-examination of how we treat even those accused of violent offenses. Fighting to send Mr. Utley back to jail where he faces near certain death is wrong and Rollins ought to reconsider her opposition to his release.”

Utley was also arrested on Oct. 6, 2018. He was allegedly discovered passed out behind the wheel of a car at the intersection of American Legion Highway and Hyde Park Avenue. Rollin’s office said there was a half-consumed bottle of Remy Martin cognac on his person and several bottles of Ciroc in the car.

In the petition, Rollins has requested that the order releasing Utley on personal recognizance be vacated and that Utley continue to be held without bail.

“It is truly alarming that this person was released and we will fight to have him returned to custody so our community remains safe," Rollins said.

Last week, the state SJC ruled that some defendants who are not charged with violent offenses can be released from incarceration as COVID-19 threatens to spread behind bars.

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