Ian Williams Jr., the cop who was arrested on charges of assault and witness tampering and was twice denied bail, was released Tuesday by a federal magistrate on $100,000 bail.
The terms of the release, according to the Daily News, include Williams wearing an electronic monitoring device and having no contact with Brendaly Nazario or her mother, whom Williams allegedly threatened to kill.
Williams was arrested in February and charged with witness tampering and third-degree assault in an alleged incident where he threatened Nazario, his common-law wife, while holding a gun to her head.
In a hearing in late February, Williams' attorney, Joseph Mingola, asked that Williams be released to the custody of his parents. The request was denied by U.S. Magistrate Judge Geoffrey Barnard, who finally released Williams on Tuesday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Curtis Gomez argued that Williams' father, Ian Williams Sr., would not be a good third-party custodian for his son since he, too, had been accused of domestic violence.
As evidence, Gomez showed the court a restraining order issued in 1988 against the senior Williams because he allegedly threatened to beat his former wife, Matilda Williams, and burn down the house.
Williams has been released to the custody of relatives Aubrey and Mathilda Smith, who came forward saying they would have no problem managing Williams, according to the V.I. Independent. The Smiths said they have known Williams since he was a child and have a good relationship with him.
Mrs. Smith told the Independent, "If he going someplace and I tell him not to go, he'd listen to me and wouldn't do it."
Another term of Williams' release is that he not leave the Smiths' home without permission from the federal Probation Office.
