DA Larry Krasner admits regret, but also blames bail system in the dismissed cases of man accused of kidnapping Kada Scott
The city courts called Krasner's comments "appallingly disrespectful and a sad attempt on his part to find a scapegoat for his own failings on this matter.”
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said he takes ownership of his office’s handling of previously withdrawn kidnapping charges against Keon King, the man police say abducted Kada Scott this month.
But he also complained that even though prosecutors asked for $999,999 bail, the bail magistrate set it much lower, allowing King to post the necessary funds and be released.
Krasner said King’s release may have been what discouraged the victim from coming to court, leading prosecutors to withdraw the case.
“Ultimately the buck stops here,” Krasner said during a news conference Friday, in which he vowed to use every city resource to investigate King and secure Scott’s safe return. “It’s not my job to throw other people under the bus.”
And yet, moments earlier, Krasner did just that.
» READ MORE: Kada Scott's family holds onto hope as detectives chase down dozens of leads as to where she might be
When asked whether his office appealed the bail decision, Krasner said it would have been a fruitless effort because judges rarely support such appeals.
“You have the option of trying to do what is often a midnight or 3 a.m. telephonic appeal to a Municipal Court judge,” he said. “The unfortunate reality of this is that some, but not all, of these judges don’t want you calling them in the middle of the night, and if you do, they lower the bail.”
The city courts said that wasn’t true.
Martin O’Rourke, a spokesperson for the courts, said Krasner and his staff know that Municipal Court and Common Pleas Court judges are on call 24/7 for emergency matters.
“In light of this truth,” he said, “the DA’s comments are appallingly disrespectful and a sad attempt on his part to find a scapegoat for his own failings on this matter.”
Reacting to Krasner’s remarks, Patrick Dugan, former president judge of the Municipal Court — and the Republican challenger in the district attorney’s race — said it was easy for prosecutors to appeal a judge’s bail decision, no matter the hour.
“If you don’t like that judge’s decision, you can immediately go to the Court of Common Pleas,” Dugan said. “If you don’t like the Court of Common Pleas decision, you can go to the Superior Court. There’s multiple opportunities to raise a bail on a violent offender — if Larry Krasner’s office wants to do it.”
Dugan, who unsuccessfully ran against Krasner as a Democrat in the primary before deciding to run as the Republican nominee in the November election, said he believes prosecutors should have moved King’s kidnapping case forward using video evidence and police testimony, with or without the victim’s cooperation.
“Unfortunately they don’t know what they’re doing,” he said.
In the year leading up to Scott’s Oct. 4 disappearance, King was charged twice with violently assaulting an ex-girlfriend, including kidnapping her and choking her in his car in January.
King was first arrested in December 2024 and charged with burglary, strangulation, and related crimes after police said he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s Strawberry Mansion house and tried to choke her.
Then, in January, court records show, he again tried to break into the woman’s home. When he couldn’t get inside, he waited outside for her to leave, the records say, then dragged her by her hair and threw her in his car. He assaulted her as he drove around, before letting her go, according to the records.
King was arrested in April for that attack and charged with kidnapping, strangulation, and related crimes. Prosecutors asked for nearly $1 million bail, but the magistrate set it at $200,000, records show.
King immediately posted the necessary $20,000, and he was released.
But the victim and an eyewitness did not show up for court in either case, prosecutors said, leading them to withdraw the cases — a move Krasner now admits was a mistake because there was enough video of the kidnapping to likely sustain the case without the witness.
“We could have done better with that,” he said. Krasner said they spoke to the victim at length to try and encourage her to testify.
But she didn’t come to court, nor did the friend who witnessed the January attack.
Much has changed following Scott’s disappearance.
Krasner said King’s original victim and her family are now speaking with prosecutors, potentially offering clues about King’s behavior as investigators continue their appeal to the public for any information involving Scott’s abduction.