Victims outraged after Ohio judge releases man charged in multiple Cleveland assaults
At least two victims of an Ohio man who pleaded guilty to carrying out a series of brutal attacks in Cleveland voiced their outrage after a judge recently released him — again.
Serus Walters, 20, pleaded guilty on May 19 to assaulting three men, according to Cuyahoga County court records. Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams reduced Walters' felony charge to a misdemeanor and released him on time served after his plea.
One of the victims, Los Angeles-based attorney David Dudley, 64, who was visiting Cleveland on business when Walters attacked him on May 29, 2024, told WOIO that he is baffled by the judge's decision to release Walters on Monday.
"I was fairly certain he was trying to kill me," Dudley told the outlet.
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Walters targeted Dudley at the Hilton Hotel in Downtown Cleveland when he kicked the victim in the ribs, shoulder and repeatedly in the back of the head, WOIO reported.
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Dudley said he has "been in front of over one thousand judges," and Collier-Williams' decision Monday left him shocked.
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"Judge Williams didn't even put him on any kind of supervision. [The] prosecutor was shocked at that," Dudley told WOIO. "He neither apologized to me nor any of the other victims he acknowledged to attacking."
Another victim, who identified himself only as "Tony" to WOIO, said Walters attacked him in Tower City on March 11, 2024. Officials arrested Walters and released him the next day.
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Walters was also previously arrested and released in connection with an assault near Whiskey Island that left a man in need of stitches, WOIO reported.
Court records show that a grand jury indicted Walters in the three separate assaults in May 2024. His defense attorney, Frank Triozzi, filed a motion seeking reduced bond in May 2024, citing the fact that Walters was 19 years old with a two-year-old child and one on the way at the time.
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"Despite the severity of the offense, counsel submits that GPS monitoring would be sufficient to ensure the safety of the public and of the alleged victims," the defense attorney wrote.
Walters was most recently arrested again on Wednesday, just two days after his release, for a minor offense in Garfield Heights.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Triozzi, Collier-Williams' office and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office for comment.Original article source: Victims outraged after Ohio judge releases man charged in multiple Cleveland assaults
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