Escape suspect talked down from High Steel Bridge

Mason County Sheriff’s deputies talked for 30 minutes with an escaped felon, who was on the structural beams beneath the High Steel Bridge after leaving a suicide note, before the man climbed back on the bridge with the help of an officer, according to the Mason County Sheriffs Office.

“David, it’s just us right here. None of us want to harm you and I really don’t want you to harm yourself,” a deputy says on video released by MCSO.

David Williford cut off his ankle monitor May 5 while on supervised release at his mother’s house in Seattle, according to police. He was the subject of a multiagency manhunt when deputies were dispatched to the bridge after a caller said they found Williford’s vehicle parked there with a note saying he’d jumped off.

MCSO Deputy Lair “could see David standing inside the super-structure approximately 10 – 15 feet below the paved bridge. I contacted him and negotiated with him for approximately 20 – 30 minutes. He made statements about the system failing him and ruining his life,” Lair wrote in a probable cause document.

“He further stated, he felt like he couldn’t recover from this again and wanted it all to end. During the negotiations he made several movements towards stepping or jumping off the bridge and exhibited confliction in taking his own life. Ultimately, our efforts to convince him to come back up were successful and he climbed up the structure back to the bridge,” the document states. Williford pleaded guilty to first-degree incest, after a second-degree rape charge was dismissed, and was sentenced to 13 months in prison and 36 months of probation April 29 by Judge Monty Cobb in Mason County Superior Court.

He received credit for time served and was released on home confinement with a GPS monitor.

Williford has a history of abusing children and animals, according to court documents.

In 2015, he was originally charged with first-degree child molestation and second-degree rape in Pierce County. He pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault and the other charges were dismissed, according to court documents.

Also in 2015, Williford was charged with eight counts of first-degree animal cruelty and one count of second degree animal cruelty in Thurston County. He pleaded guilty to the second-degree count and the other charges were dropped.

A pre-sentence investigation filed in Williford’s Mason County case lists community concerns.

“Williford appears to display repeated and escalating criminal behavior without hesitation and poses a safety risk to the community as past interventions through the courts have failed. Williford also refused to admit his current or past crimes and denies all behaviors. Additionally, Williford appears to communicate without remorse. This type of behavior is concerning because it indicates that he will not have any behavior changes or set goals for behavior changes,” the document states.

The investigation, performed by the Department of Corrections, states Williford “displays predatory behavior,” and recommends he serve “between 78 – 102 months in total confinement, where he can participate in sexually deviant behavior treatment and 36 months of community custody for a proper transition back into the community.”

Williford now faces charges of felony community custody violation.

Cobb set bail at $50,000.

His initial arraignment is May 27 before Judge Tirsa Butler in Mason County Superior Court.