December 26, 2022
LAS VEGAS, NV—A non-profit California group that bails people out of jail for free has shut down after being sued for releasing a serial criminal who shot a Las Vegas waiter 11 times less than a week after he was bailed out of jail.
The Bail Project—supported by Danny Glover, John Legend, and Richard Branson—announced it discontinued operations due to “restructuring” in early December, according to 8 News Now.
The progressive pro-Black group posted a $3,000 bond for Rashawn Gaston-Anderson in December 2021. Six days later, he shot a Chinese restaurant worker 11 times.
“It’s an absolute tragedy and The Bail Project, myself speaking for The Bail Project found it absolutely shocking,” Cameron Pipe said during an interview with 8 News Now in January of 2021.
The victim, Chengyan Wang, filed a lawsuit against Gaston-Anderson, the shopping plaza where the shooting occurred, and The Bail Project in September. The lawsuit specifically mentions Gaston-Anderson’s criminal history and how The Bail Project posted his bond anyway.
Gaston-Anderson, 24, was sentenced on December 12 to 7-to-18 years in state prison for shooting Wang. He pleaded guilty in November to felony mayhem and attempted robbery with a weapon. He avoided trial under a plea deal that may also lead to a dismissal of three other criminal cases against him.
The 24-year-old perpetual criminal pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny in Las Vegas in 2018 and was sentenced to 18 months of probation. He was also convicted of felony burglary in New York in 2019 and in 2021, he was convicted of auto theft in Illinois.
In November 2021, Gaston-Anderson was also arrested for pandering and carrying a concealed weapon, reports 8 News Now.
Gaston-Anderson was released without bail for the November 2021 arrest and was arrested again the following day on burglary and theft charges. That’s when The Bail group sprung him out on a $3,000 bond.
Speaking through an interpreter, Wang told The Las Vegas Review-Journal after the hearing that he is still receiving physical therapy after getting shot over 11 times and is unable to return to work.
Wang took four rounds to the abdomen, one to the shoulder, another through the neck, and one to the hand.
Wang moved to Las Vegas from China just a few months before the robbery. He was just mopping the floor early December 20, 2021, when he was confronted by a Gaston-Anderson who entered the restaurant through an unlocked back door and demanded money.
Gaston-Anderson was arrested on December 27, 2021, at a Las Vegas mental health facility.
Feature Screenshots via Metro CBS