No Bond For Murder Suspect Caught After 9 Day Manhunt

Alabama Mobile Judge denies bond for William Kidd 24. District Attorney says Kidd recieved "special treatment" in a previous case.

by Jessica Taloney

Published: Mon, July 13, 2009 - 12:42 pm CST Last Updated: Mon, July 13, 2009 - 4:06 pm CST

A murder suspect who led local and federal law enforcement on a nine day manhunt will remain in jail.

Mobile County District Court Judge Michael McMaken denied bond for William Kidd, 24, on Monday. Kidd was arrested early Saturday morning at Providence Hospital in West Mobile where police say he was being treated for a gunshot wound.

Prichard police, Mobile police, the FBI and US Marshals believed they were closing in on the area where Kidd was hiding when Kidd was apparently shot in the side. Latoya Veal, a spokesperson for Prichard police, says investigators do not know who shot Kidd, but they insist it was not law enforcement. Veal says Kidd was driven to the hospital by a friend, and hospital officials called police.

Kidd was wanted for the July 2nd murder of William "Red" Hampton. Hampton was shot in the front yard of a home on North Joseph Avenue. Since the murder, District Attorney John Tyson says Kidd was either the gunman or target in at least a dozen more shootings including a second shooting at the same home where Hampton was killed.

According to court records, Kidd has at least twelve prior arrests. Tyson says five of the cases, including two assault cases and three robbery cases, were dismissed because witnesses refused to testify. A sixth case resulted in what Tyson calls "special treatment" by a former Circuit Court judge.

In 2006, Kidd pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to boot camp by former Judge Herman Thomas. "I think that is entirely inappropriate for a robbery case," says Tyson, who requested a five year prison sentence in the case. Kidd, who according to Tyson got into trouble at the boot camp, was then released for time served. "In a matter of three or four months he was out of prison, out of jail, out of custody," says Tyson.

Thomas, who resigned from the bench in 2007, was indicted earlier this year on 57 counts involving the misuse of his position as a judge. In each of the cases, prosecutors allege the former judge exchanged sexual favors for leniency in the courtroom.

Tyson says Kidd was interviewed during the investigation against Thomas, but he had "nothing but nice things to say about the judge." Kidd is not listed as a victim in the indictment against Thomas, who is scheduled to go to trial in October.

Robert Clark, Thomas' attorney, denies the former judge gave anyone special treatment during his time on the bench.

Kidd now faces multiple charges including one count of murder and one count of attempted murder, which both carry 20 to 99 years in prison.

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Jlynnsmom Says:

Fri, Aug 07, 2009 at 8:06 am

yeah- guess he did only have nice things to say about Herman. Wonder if the person or people- am sure their are more- that he murdered are black? Seems all the black- no- correction- most of the black community was up in arms regarding Hermans arrest and surely convictions even holding a rally for him….think before you step up for someones character. Especially when you don’t truly know them. The murderers and thugs Herman set free for his own gain are running rampant in Mobile. Thank God for MEM- Judge McMaken- he is a true judge and just hope this dude doesnt get so called Judge Smith or the other circuit judge that lets them out as well for his trial. Maybe we will start seeing some justice now and the easy judges will take a lesson from Herman and start doing their jobs…

alabamaoutlaw Says:

Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 4:19 pm

I kinda like that,it will work for me.

FLOWERCHILD Says:

Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 3:06 pm

He needs to stay in jail with no chance of ever walking the streets again. He obviously has no respect for human life and wouldn’t think twice about killing someone else. We all know that ain’t gonna happen.

I agree Mike save us all a lot of money and just do him in.