A federal magistrate judge ruled Thursday that a Bothell man arrested Monday in the of the Juanita Village Bank of America branch in Kirkland can be freed if he wears an ankle monitor and meets several conditions.
Anthony Ray Shindler was arrested Monday by the FBI and remains in federal detention in Seattle. However, Magistrate Judge Brian A. Tsuchida ruled during a detention hearing Thursday in U.S. District Court in Seattle that Schindler could be released conditionally.
Shindler’s court-appointed federal defender, Peter J. Avenia, said Shindler would likely be released Friday or Saturday after a GPS monitoring ankle device was set up.
He must also meet several other conditions, including that he submit to alcohol and DNA testing, not use controlled substances, that he attend a Gambler’s 12-step Program, not have any contact with potential witnesses or others involved in the robbery, maintain a residence and a job or seek employment, and undergo a mental health evaluation.
“I’m very happy the court was willing to release him on condition, and I think Mr. Schindler will do fine,” Avenia said. “I think the court was satisfied (it) could arrange conditions that would monitor Mr. Schindler’s activities and keep the community safe.”
Avenia declined specific comment about Shindler and his circumstances.
The bank at 11617 97th Lane N.E. was robbed on Friday, Aug. 5 at about 10 a.m. by a man using a silver handgun and wearing a baseball cap and dark glasses. The FBI that afternoon released surveillance camera images of the robber that were and by other media.
Shindler was arrested Monday morning without incident at the at 11224 N.E. 124th St. in Kirkland, according to the FBI. He made his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington in Seattle Tuesday afternoon.
Shindler must appear for a preliminary hearing in federal court on Aug. 23.
Once he gets his day in court we'll find out how the case plays out and, if he's found guilty, what his punishment is.
Did Mr.Tsuchida take an oath to protect and uphold the Constitution of the United States? If he did, he is guilty of failing to do his job. By being unyielding to the pathetic entreaties of defense attorneys when a case involves gun crime, he would be protecting your Second Amendment rights by demonstrating the consequences and seriousness of such a breach of law. To do as he did, it demonstrates a willingness to throw a constitutional amendment under the bus. Which of the other first ten amendments would you have him eviscerate; perhaps the 6th? I reiterate: he is a worthless, useless liberal judge.
The Second Amendment protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The Sixth Amendment confers several individual rights: the right to a speedy trial, the right to a public trial, the right to an impartial jury, the right of confrontation (i.e., cross-examination), the right to be informed of the nature of the accusation, the right to call favorable witnesses, the right to counsel, and the right to self-representation. Neither the Second Amendment, nor the Sixth Amendment, has anything to do with a federal magistrate’s (Tsuchida is not a judge, there is a significant difference) decision to release a suspect from custody on the condition that the suspect wear a GPS tracking device so his location will be known at all times. You’ve clearly subscribed to a Republican mantra that relies on sound bites (“liberal judges”) rather than actual facts. And your holding fast to a position without a proper basis for doing so, or even an adequate understanding of the subject matter, is an example of the way in which irresponsible decision-making has a detrimental affect on our political process.
As a side note, I would add that the comments by Trent above look no different in assumptions than the ones he is berating as mindless and unfounded, and in fact they go a lot further. Hope he is not acting in the capacity of an impartial moderator here. It is clear he is not.
First, I don’t know how someone can rob a bank while being filmed by security cameras can be freed within days because that is not what has happened here. Shindler has not been freed. Second, Tsuchida's decision to release Shindler doesn’t serve deterrence, justice or common sense: Mr. Shindler has not been released; his being put to trial is what will serve deterrence, justice and common sense. “explain how a GPS ankle bracelet achieves a higher degree of public safety than incarceration until trial.” I never said it did. You said Tsuchida released Shindler. Shindler has not been released. You also equated this to a failure to uphold the Second and Sixth Amendments. I explained that neither these amendments apply to your comment. “And, sir, please don't mistake me for a Republican.” Regardless, my point remains: It’s a mistake to confuse a Magistrate’s decision to place a suspect under house arrest as opposed to incarceration, a decision that involves more variables than those known to us, with Shindler’s terrible crime. Your comment that Tsuchida is a “worthless, useless liberal judge” makes exactly that mistake. Shindler is the wrongdoer and will be brought to justice.