Some drama during the single hearing of today's short list of cases marked a rather interesting Criminal Day at 15-1-01...
In the lone hearing of the day, Commonwealth vs. Tykesha Jackson (15-1-01, CR-0000030-07; CP-15-CR-0001372-2007), the defendant and an accomplice were charged with assaulting a teenage male earlier this year. Jackson, 21, of Coatesville, had been declared a fugitive after failing to appear for a preliminary hearing on the matter earlier in the year. Jackson was eventually arrested on May 30 and had been at Chester County Prison awaiting charges on this matter and a separate assault in Valley (CP-15-CR-0003162-2006). The case was originally listed for trial in front of Common Pleas Court Judge William P. Mahon, however, the West Chester case was remanded back to District Court for a preliminary hearing, which took place today.
The hearing didn't get underway until shortly after 12:00, after the defendant was not transported from CCP during for the initial session. Prior to the hearing, there was some controversy as to whether or not a friend of the defendant would be permitted to attend the hearings, a move that enraged the victim's family. As tensions escalated, WCPD and West Goshen police were called in to ensure that the issues wouldn't escalate from verbal to physical. Fortunately, that didn't happen and the hearing went on without Jackson's friend in attendance. This is reportedly in relation to a separate case pending in front of Judge Knapp where a no-contact order is in place.
As for the case itself, the victim testified that on January 19 at around 23:00, he was walking westbound on West Market Street near Everhart when Jackson and a co-defendant, Pierce Rivera, got out of a car belonging to the defendant's father. At that point, Jackson allegedly yelled at the victim, "Talk that s**t now" before striking the victim in the forehead, resulting in a visible bruise. The victim then alleged that Rivera struck him in the head with a full beer bottle, resulting in bleeding from the face and requiring over 40 stitches to the right cheek and left eye. The victim then ran eastbound to Market and New Streets where he flagged down a WCPD officer to report the incident. The victim's cousin also testified to the same facts, alleging that the defendant was a passenger in a car driven by Rivera when they pulled into a parking lot to an apartment complex near the scene of the assault.
WCPD Det. Anne Martin testified that when Jackson was arrested on the fugitive warrant in May, she conducted an interview in which Ofc. John O'Hare was present. In the video-taped interview, Jackson allegedly claimed that she was en route to Matlack and Barnard Streets and that Rivera was driving the car. Jackson allegedly told Det. Martin that she saw the victim and allegedly told Rivera, "There's that boy." Rivera then allegedly pulled the car over and Jackson struck the victim in the head.
While defense attorney Brenda Jones argued that her client shouldn't be held on the Aggravated Assault charges since it was Rivera who allegedly caused the serious bodily injury to the victim and that no evidence had been presented to prove a conspiracy to committ the serious assault, the Commonwealth argued that there doesn't have to be a verbal agreement to commit a crime under Pennsylvania law and that once such a conspiracy was formed, both co-conspirators were responsible for their actions until the conspiracy was broken. No evidence had been presented to prove that the pact had been broken and that both defendants had agreed to attack the victim, even though it was a non-verbal pact.
Judge Bruno ultimately held all counts against Jackson for trial - two counts of Aggravated Assault, one count of Simple Assault, one count of Recklessly Endangering Another Person, and six counts of Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Assault. Jackson remains committed to CCP on $7,500 bail. For his alleged role in the assault, Rivera was held for trial by Judge Bruno on February 20; his trial is tentatively scheduled in front of Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Gavin on September 10 (15-1-01, CR-0000053-07; CP-15-CR-0000734-2007). After the hearing, Judge Bruno admonished both sides to "keep their distance" from each other and that there was no need to do anything outside of the courtroom to warrant further legal problems...
Meanwhile, a case of love gone wrong dragged on longer than it should have this morning. Alexander J. Walsh, Jr. appeared in court for what he expected would be a simple compliance agreement hearing in which charges of Burglary, Criminal Trespass, Institutional Vandalism, and Criminal Mischief would be withdrawn in exchange for guilty pleas to three summary offenses. Walsh, 20, of Downingtown, was prepared to sign guilty plea slips on summary counts of Disorderly Conduct, Underage Drinking, and Criminal Mischief before the Commonwealth brought it to the attention of the court that Walsh allegedly made harassing phone calls to his victim over.
Initially, Judge Bruno decided to continue the case for 45 days, however Walsh's attorney was tied up in another court and running behind schedule. The case was passed to later in the morning, pending the arrival of Walsh's attorney. Once defense counsel arrived, both the defendant, the victim, and their families reconvened in court, where tensions were slightly starting to boil over. The victim and her family alleged that Walsh had made several phone calls per day to the victim which they called bordering on harassment. The defendant responded by saying there was no criminal intent in making those phone calls.
Eventually, after much debate and arguing over whether or not the calls constituted harassment, Judge Bruno ultimately decided to accept the guilty pleas on the summary cases, thus closing out the cases. Walsh was ordered to pay a total of $500 in fines plus court costs, and will also face a 90-day suspension of his driver's license as a result of the underage drinking conviction (15-1-01, CR-0000131-07)...
In (relatively) less controversial matters, the remaining five cases were waived or continued to later dates. In two cases of note:
Jacqueline G. McGlynn of Wallingford, Delaware County, surrendered to the court on a bench warrant issued on July 3 by Judge Bruno for failing to appear for her preliminary hearing on a DUI charge. McGlynn's attorney claimed that she had misplaced the paperwork for her hearing date which is why she failed to appear initially. In any case, bail was set at $2,500 unsecured and her hearing was continued to August 28 (15-1-01, CR-0000152-07)...
Alex Villa, 25, formerly of West Chester, waived his preliminary hearing on charges of rape and related offenses stemming from a 2003 assault in downtown West Chester, despite all sides involved expecting a hearing. Villa is currently in state prison on unrelated charges (15-1-01, CR-0000187-07)...
And with that, another West Side Criminal Day is in the books...
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