A jury convicted a West Chester man this afternoon for his role in a burglary and assault in East Bradford last April.
William H. Strode, Jr., 26, was found guilty of Criminal Attempt to Commit Rape, Aggravated Assault, and Burglary by a jury of six men and six women after two hours of deliberation. Judge Thomas Gavin issued jury instructions after both attorneys gave closing arguements this morning. The jury returned its verdict at 14:00. Assistant District Attorney Thomas Ost-Prisco had argued for Strode's bail to be revoked, citing the defendant's threats that he made in Judge Anthony Sarcione's court which were directed at the judge, police, victim, and his previous attorney. (That particular outburst was what caused the case to be reassigned in the first place.) However, Judge Gavin ruled that since the $50,000 cash bail had not been posted, it was, for all intents and purposes, moot.
Sentencing is scheduled for sometime in mid-October; after he had initially pled guilty in January, Strode had completed an evaluation through the Sex Offenders Assessment Board. Despite withdrawing his initial guilty plea, both sides agreed it was unneccesary to "reinvent the wheel" and order a new evaluation.
Showing posts with label Gavin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gavin. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
COMMONWEALTH VS STRODE
The trial of Commonwealth vs. William Horac Strode, Jr. began today in Courtroom #5. Strode faces one count each of Criminal Attempt/Rape, Aggravated Assault, and Burglary following an April 23, 2006 incident at a residence in East Bradford (CP-15-CR-0002002-2006).
In testimony during the afternoon, the alleged victim testified that she and the defendant attended a fire company function at the Italian Social Club in West Chester. When they returned to her house, he dropped her off and left the property. He then drove to a nearby property, waited several minutes while the victim went inside to do some household chores before going to bed.
Shortly after midnight, the victim heard a bucket in the basement fall to the ground, then the power going out on her property. She hadn't thought anything of either incident at the time since she suspected the cats were down in the basement and that it was raining that night, hence the possible power failure.
A few minutes later, Strode allegedly entered the victim's bedroom, got on top of her and attempted to choke her by covering one hand around her mouth and his other hand around her neck. After pleading with Strode, he eventually loosened his grip and released her. At that point, she fled from the bedroom. Shortly thereafter, Strode allegedly admitted to her that he had intended to choke her out, have sex with her, and that if he "had gone too far, he would've performed CPR."
As they were on the porch after the incident, Ofc. Carl McIntyre had pulled up investigating an unrelated shots fired incident in the area. After briefly inquiring if the defendant or victim had heard any gun shots, one of them indicated it was fireworks and Ofc. McIntyre proceeded on.
About an hour and a half later, after the inital contact with Ofc. McIntyre, the alleged victim called her daughter and her son to tell them what happened. The victim's son pressed her to call police. At that point, Ofc. McIntyre returned to the location to get the victim's statement. The victim relayed the events to Ofc. McIntyre, then went to her son's house for the night.
That evening, at around 19:30, Ofc. McIntyre made contact with Strode, who voluntarily came to WCPD headquarters for an interview. Strode then voluntarily provided a written statement to Ofc. McIntyre about the events the previous night. Ofc. McIntyre testified that he chose not to arrest Strode until he voluntarily came in for an interview, though he did advise the day shift about the incident.
The Commonwealth rested it's case this afternoon. Tomorrow morning, the defense is expected to present it's case (if any) and closing arguements are expected to take place. The jury should get the case by late tomorrow morning.
In testimony during the afternoon, the alleged victim testified that she and the defendant attended a fire company function at the Italian Social Club in West Chester. When they returned to her house, he dropped her off and left the property. He then drove to a nearby property, waited several minutes while the victim went inside to do some household chores before going to bed.
Shortly after midnight, the victim heard a bucket in the basement fall to the ground, then the power going out on her property. She hadn't thought anything of either incident at the time since she suspected the cats were down in the basement and that it was raining that night, hence the possible power failure.
A few minutes later, Strode allegedly entered the victim's bedroom, got on top of her and attempted to choke her by covering one hand around her mouth and his other hand around her neck. After pleading with Strode, he eventually loosened his grip and released her. At that point, she fled from the bedroom. Shortly thereafter, Strode allegedly admitted to her that he had intended to choke her out, have sex with her, and that if he "had gone too far, he would've performed CPR."
As they were on the porch after the incident, Ofc. Carl McIntyre had pulled up investigating an unrelated shots fired incident in the area. After briefly inquiring if the defendant or victim had heard any gun shots, one of them indicated it was fireworks and Ofc. McIntyre proceeded on.
About an hour and a half later, after the inital contact with Ofc. McIntyre, the alleged victim called her daughter and her son to tell them what happened. The victim's son pressed her to call police. At that point, Ofc. McIntyre returned to the location to get the victim's statement. The victim relayed the events to Ofc. McIntyre, then went to her son's house for the night.
That evening, at around 19:30, Ofc. McIntyre made contact with Strode, who voluntarily came to WCPD headquarters for an interview. Strode then voluntarily provided a written statement to Ofc. McIntyre about the events the previous night. Ofc. McIntyre testified that he chose not to arrest Strode until he voluntarily came in for an interview, though he did advise the day shift about the incident.
The Commonwealth rested it's case this afternoon. Tomorrow morning, the defense is expected to present it's case (if any) and closing arguements are expected to take place. The jury should get the case by late tomorrow morning.
COURTROOM #5 RECAP - 9/14/07
The first half of Judge Thomas Gavin's four week term (which is really split into two separate two week terms) ended on Friday with a couple of West Chester cases resolved:
Kevin Christian Devirgilis, 33, of West Chester, pled guilty to DUI/3rd Offense/2nd Tier and Endangering the Welfare of a Child after a road rage incident in West Goshen. On March 3 at 14:36, Ofc. Cheryl Taylor responded to the report of a property damage accident at Paoli Pike and Turner Lane. The victim was about to turn left onto Paoli Pike from Turner when Devirgilis' car struck his car, causing some scratches to the passenger side. Devirgils then spit into the victim's vehicle before driving off. Devirgilis' 4-year-old daughter was in the car at the time. He later pulled into the Wawa on Gay Street. Upon arrival, Ofc. Taylor observed signs of intoxication and that Devirgilis was having a tough time maintaining his balance. He was transported to CCH for a blood draw; the blood test resulted in a .12 BAC.
Judge Gavin sentenced Devirgilis to 90 days to 23 months at Chester County Prison, one year consecutive probation, fined $1,600 ($1,500 on the DUI and $100 for the Recklessly Endangering Another Person, ordered to pay the $70 Lima Lab fee, perform 100 hours of community service, and will suffer an 18 month driver's license suspension (CP-15-CR-0002371-2007)...
Vincent Daniel Friedel, 45, of Malvern, was charged with Simple Assault and Harassment following a New Year's Eve domestic fight. At 10:45, Ofc. Aaron Davis was dispatched to a residence on the 900 block of Cloud Drive in East Bradford for the report of a domestic dispute reported physical. The victim (the defendant's wife) stated that Friedel threw a plastic baby bottle at her, striking her in the face during what she described as a verbal dispute. As a result of a plea bargain, Friedel pled guilty to a summary charge of harassment and sentenced to 90 days probation and ordered not to have contact with the victim (CP-15-CR-0000857-2007)...
Most of the other West Chester related cases in front of Judge Gavin were passed to next week or continued to the next term. The second half of Judge Gavin's criminal term will start next Monday.
Also, today marked the start of Judge Anthony Sarcione's "Rotation II" criminal list, although a lot of pleas slated to be heard by him were moved to other judges (a few were moved to Judge Nagle's court) due to the ongoing Michael Sheller murder trial (and no, I haven't been covering it because Jen Miller is doing a good job covering it for the DLN, and for me to cover the same trial would be a little redundant). That trial is expected to go to the jury either tomorrow or Wednesday.
Tomorrow is Judge Bruno's Criminal Day at 15-1-01; also, because of a scheduling quirk, Judge Bruno is also the on-call District Judge tonight (filling the slot that would normally be assigned to Goshen District Court; however since Senior District Judge Susann Welsh is presiding at Goshen, on-call days assigned to Goshen are re-assigned to other judges; Coatesville District Judge Robert Davis filled in on Saturday and Sunday). I might miss the first part of the first quarter of tonight's Iggles game to see if anything interesting happens in the first hour of on-call at Judge Bruno's court, though I will definiately be there for Criminal Day tomorrow, even if the Iggles somehow find a way to screw tonight up and lose to the Prince George's County (Md.) Indigenous Persons...
Kevin Christian Devirgilis, 33, of West Chester, pled guilty to DUI/3rd Offense/2nd Tier and Endangering the Welfare of a Child after a road rage incident in West Goshen. On March 3 at 14:36, Ofc. Cheryl Taylor responded to the report of a property damage accident at Paoli Pike and Turner Lane. The victim was about to turn left onto Paoli Pike from Turner when Devirgilis' car struck his car, causing some scratches to the passenger side. Devirgils then spit into the victim's vehicle before driving off. Devirgilis' 4-year-old daughter was in the car at the time. He later pulled into the Wawa on Gay Street. Upon arrival, Ofc. Taylor observed signs of intoxication and that Devirgilis was having a tough time maintaining his balance. He was transported to CCH for a blood draw; the blood test resulted in a .12 BAC.
Judge Gavin sentenced Devirgilis to 90 days to 23 months at Chester County Prison, one year consecutive probation, fined $1,600 ($1,500 on the DUI and $100 for the Recklessly Endangering Another Person, ordered to pay the $70 Lima Lab fee, perform 100 hours of community service, and will suffer an 18 month driver's license suspension (CP-15-CR-0002371-2007)...
Vincent Daniel Friedel, 45, of Malvern, was charged with Simple Assault and Harassment following a New Year's Eve domestic fight. At 10:45, Ofc. Aaron Davis was dispatched to a residence on the 900 block of Cloud Drive in East Bradford for the report of a domestic dispute reported physical. The victim (the defendant's wife) stated that Friedel threw a plastic baby bottle at her, striking her in the face during what she described as a verbal dispute. As a result of a plea bargain, Friedel pled guilty to a summary charge of harassment and sentenced to 90 days probation and ordered not to have contact with the victim (CP-15-CR-0000857-2007)...
Most of the other West Chester related cases in front of Judge Gavin were passed to next week or continued to the next term. The second half of Judge Gavin's criminal term will start next Monday.
Also, today marked the start of Judge Anthony Sarcione's "Rotation II" criminal list, although a lot of pleas slated to be heard by him were moved to other judges (a few were moved to Judge Nagle's court) due to the ongoing Michael Sheller murder trial (and no, I haven't been covering it because Jen Miller is doing a good job covering it for the DLN, and for me to cover the same trial would be a little redundant). That trial is expected to go to the jury either tomorrow or Wednesday.
Tomorrow is Judge Bruno's Criminal Day at 15-1-01; also, because of a scheduling quirk, Judge Bruno is also the on-call District Judge tonight (filling the slot that would normally be assigned to Goshen District Court; however since Senior District Judge Susann Welsh is presiding at Goshen, on-call days assigned to Goshen are re-assigned to other judges; Coatesville District Judge Robert Davis filled in on Saturday and Sunday). I might miss the first part of the first quarter of tonight's Iggles game to see if anything interesting happens in the first hour of on-call at Judge Bruno's court, though I will definiately be there for Criminal Day tomorrow, even if the Iggles somehow find a way to screw tonight up and lose to the Prince George's County (Md.) Indigenous Persons...
Sunday, September 16, 2007
RAPE TRIAL TO START TOMORROW
A man accused of raping a woman in East Bradford is scheduled to go to trial tomorrow in front of Judge Thomas Gavin. William Horac Strode, Jr., 26, of West Chester, is charged with Rape, Criminal Attempt/Rape, Burglary, Simple Assault, Recklessly Endgangering Another Person, two counts of Criminal Trespassing, and Aggravated Assault after an April 23, 2006 incident in the township according to a complaint filed by Ofc. Carl McIntyre of WCPD.
Strode originally pled guilty on January 24 to one count of Criminal Attempt/Rape and Burglary in front of Judge Anthony Sarcione. Last month, however, Strode fired his attorney and retained new counsel, Scott Godshall. At the hearing in August, the case was reassigned to Judge Gavin, who granted Strode's motion to withdraw his guilty plea and set his bail at $50,000.
Last week, a hearing was held in which the Commonwealth attempted to admit prior bad acts comitted by the defendant to show a pattern of conduct. However, after arguement by defense counsel, Judge Gavin deferred a decision on the motion until the next day, although he indicated in open court that he was inclined to deny the motion.
Jury selection begins tomorrow in Courtroom #5; Assistant DA Thomas Ost-Prisco is prosecuting the case on behalf of the Commonwealth (CP-15-CR-0002002-2006).
Strode originally pled guilty on January 24 to one count of Criminal Attempt/Rape and Burglary in front of Judge Anthony Sarcione. Last month, however, Strode fired his attorney and retained new counsel, Scott Godshall. At the hearing in August, the case was reassigned to Judge Gavin, who granted Strode's motion to withdraw his guilty plea and set his bail at $50,000.
Last week, a hearing was held in which the Commonwealth attempted to admit prior bad acts comitted by the defendant to show a pattern of conduct. However, after arguement by defense counsel, Judge Gavin deferred a decision on the motion until the next day, although he indicated in open court that he was inclined to deny the motion.
Jury selection begins tomorrow in Courtroom #5; Assistant DA Thomas Ost-Prisco is prosecuting the case on behalf of the Commonwealth (CP-15-CR-0002002-2006).
Thursday, August 9, 2007
"TRIAL OF THE CENTURY" RECAP
As promised, a recap of the big Disorderly Conduct summary appeal "Trial of the Century" which was heard yesterday in front of Judge Thomas Gavin as part of his Miscellaneous Case list...
At around 11:35, the summary appeal of Commonwealth vs. Joseph Norley (CP-15-SA-0000138-2007) commenced after nearly two hours of addressing other matters before the court, mostly violations of probation/parole, other summary appeals, and a civil hearing that started at 09:00 and extended well past the scheduled 09:30 call of the Miscellaneous List. The case was heard in front of Judge Knapp on February 23, where Norley was found guilty of one count of Disorderly Conduct (15-1-04, NT-0001774-06).
On October 22, 2006 at around 02:54, Cpl. Pam Baumann and Ofc. Greg Cugino were on bike patrol in the southeast college neighborhood when dispatch reported a disturbance at South Walnut and Magnolia Streets. Upon arrival, Norley told the officers that three individuals were harassing him and making threats to kill him and rape his wife. Norley claimed that one of the actors had taken a photo of him using a cell phone camera and was cursing him out. Norley had testified that earlier in the night, some subjects had caused damage to a parked vehicle and was concerned that further incidents in the area would incite violence. He claimed he notified police of the damaged vehicle after officers cleared a noise disturbance at a nearby house but were "to busy to attend to" the particular matter.
Cpl. Baumann testified that when she and Ofc. Cugino arrived on scene in regards to the complaint, Norley pointed out three individuals he suspected were involved in making the threats. The officers then followed the subjects down Walnut and onto Union Street before stopping them on the 300 block of Sharon Alley. Before the officers went after the actors, Cpl. Baumann testified that she told Norley to stay where he was and that they would handle the situation.
Norley then followed the officers to Sharon Alley, observing the stop from Sharon Alley and Union Street. As the officers were conducting their investigation, Norley yelled several times "That's them. I want them arrested" in a loud voice from around 100-to-120 feet away. Cpl. Baumann testified that she warned Norley to leave the scene at least 4-to-5 times; Ofc. Cugino testified the had warned Norley twice himself. The yelling continued for nearly two minutes before Cpl. Baumann warned Norley one last time that if he didn't leave, he would be cited for Disorderly Conduct. After failing to heed the warnings, Cpl. Baumann informed Norley that he would be recieve a citation in the mail, to which Norley said "That's just f***ing great!"
During the ped stop on Sharon Alley, both officers testified that Norley's actions were interfering with their ability to conduct the investigation. During his testimony, Norley claimed that the fact he was only trying to identify the subjects from the initial allegations of threats and reiterated that he was about 100 feet away from the officers during the entire incident.
The Commonwealth and defense counsel Sam Streeton jointly presented into evidence five 9-1-1 calls placed to WCPD dispatchers Paul Widmayer and Christopher Jones on the night in question. On the first two calls regarding the incident Norley was complaing about, some verbal interaction between an unknown number of actors and Norley was noticable during the call. The third call related to the incident in which one of the subjects allegedly took the photo of Norley; the fourth call was after Cpl. Baumann informed Norley that the citation would be issued, in which he requsted to speak to a supervisor; the final call was when Norley made mention of the threats made towards his wife and on that call, he threatened to go down to borough hall and call the mayor and police chief.
During arguements, Stretton presented case law that supported Norley's contention that his actions did not constitute a violation of the Disorderly Conduct statute in that his purpose to assist the police in identifying the supects was indeed a legitimate purpose. The Commonwealth countered that Norley's actions served no legitimate purpose and created a risk to the officers due to his allegedly "tumultuous behavior."
After Nathanial Smith, a neighbor of Norley's, was presented as a charater witness, Judge Gavin announced that he would need time to review the evidence and testimony and that a verdict would be handed down tomorrow. The Commonwealth was given until tomorrow to present relevant case law for the court's consideration. Stretton waived his client's right to be present for the veridct. And, that should have been the end of it except for the verdict...
Except that a representative of the bail agency, who was scheduled to appear in front of Judge Gavin on an unrelated matter, informed the court that Norley had a bench warrant issued by Judge Bruno. The warrant was for a particularly heinous offense that certainly had to be addressed at once and that Norley would have to be arrested and brought before Judge Bruno.
The offense? An parking ticket for "overtime parking meter" with a $87.21 fine (15-1-01, TR-00004829-07). Seriously...
For the next 10-15 minutes, there seemed to be confusion as to whether the Sheriff's Office would be responsible for confirming the warrant and taking Norley to District Court or if WCPD would address the matter. At least 4 deputies made their way to the hallway outside of Courtroom #5, prepared to take Norley into custody. Meanwhile, Cpl. Baumann made the decision to contact WCPD dispatch to send an officer over to the courthouse and let WCPD take care of the issue. Ultimately, and almost ironically, Ofc. Cugino returned to the Courthouse to serve the warrant and take Norley to Judge Bruno's court to address the ticket. According to court records, Norley paid the fine plus $27.50 in additional court costs...
In short there are several ways to look at this entire episode:
For starters, it was bad enough that two WCPD officers, one of whom was on scheduled patrol duty, were tied up in court due to circumstances out of their control, namely the sluggish court management and scheduling. To wit, why would Court Administration schedule a civil hearing on a day when several summary appeals and violations of probation were scheduled? I'm sure that the civil hearing could've come up at the last minute, but still...
Why would the Commonwealth go full throttle in prosecuting this case when I've seen a couple of non-jury criminal trials resolved in less time than this appeal took (it took a total of an hour-and-a-half, not counting the lunch recess, to run the trial). When the summary trial was held in front of Judge Knapp, it was scheduled right in the middle of a Criminal Day, which, according to some accounts, completely slowed down the entire session even worse than usual; considering there are days in which those sessions are slow and erratic to being with, it must have really been a mess...
For that matter, why would Norley seek to proceed with an appeal with such zealousness, other than what could be explained as a "matter of principle." Norley's outspokeness about the misbehavior of college students - alleged and proven - in the South Walnut Street neighborhood is legendary, particularly the repeated complaints made in front of Borough Council over the years. The irony is that the Commonwealth essentially charged Norley for the same behavior that he has been combating for years...
And finally, there's the little issue over the bench warrant for the parking ticket. Granted, it would've been in Norley's best interest to address that matter sooner before it went to warrant, however here's an interesting paradox that I've noticed over the past couple years. Some constables in the county are notorious for first confirming an active traffic or non-traffic summary warrant - or in the case of some defendants multiple warrants - and simply directing them to court. One such defendant reportedly had no fewer than 10 outstanding summary bench warrants after a traffic stop by a WCPD officer, only to have the constables simply request the officer direct the defendant to court. Now, to be fair, the warrant could've been confirmed directly by the court and the judge could've requested that Norley be brought in right away. But still, to drag someone off in handcuffs after a very long and stressful day in court over a parking ticket that was less than $100 borders on overkill. Not to mention the fact that had the little turf war between the Sheriff's Office and the WCPD over how to handle the matter. (Now if it was a warrant for a criminal case, that's another story.)
In any event, a recap of some of the other cases (assuming that I stop procrastinating and get around to posting those cases here) will be posted by the end of the week. Despite what looked like a promising week full of pleas and possible trials, a lot of the matters of interest were continued to the next trial terms. Still, I'll post what I can which isn't as much as I'd have liked, but that's the quirk of the court system, I guess...
At around 11:35, the summary appeal of Commonwealth vs. Joseph Norley (CP-15-SA-0000138-2007) commenced after nearly two hours of addressing other matters before the court, mostly violations of probation/parole, other summary appeals, and a civil hearing that started at 09:00 and extended well past the scheduled 09:30 call of the Miscellaneous List. The case was heard in front of Judge Knapp on February 23, where Norley was found guilty of one count of Disorderly Conduct (15-1-04, NT-0001774-06).
On October 22, 2006 at around 02:54, Cpl. Pam Baumann and Ofc. Greg Cugino were on bike patrol in the southeast college neighborhood when dispatch reported a disturbance at South Walnut and Magnolia Streets. Upon arrival, Norley told the officers that three individuals were harassing him and making threats to kill him and rape his wife. Norley claimed that one of the actors had taken a photo of him using a cell phone camera and was cursing him out. Norley had testified that earlier in the night, some subjects had caused damage to a parked vehicle and was concerned that further incidents in the area would incite violence. He claimed he notified police of the damaged vehicle after officers cleared a noise disturbance at a nearby house but were "to busy to attend to" the particular matter.
Cpl. Baumann testified that when she and Ofc. Cugino arrived on scene in regards to the complaint, Norley pointed out three individuals he suspected were involved in making the threats. The officers then followed the subjects down Walnut and onto Union Street before stopping them on the 300 block of Sharon Alley. Before the officers went after the actors, Cpl. Baumann testified that she told Norley to stay where he was and that they would handle the situation.
Norley then followed the officers to Sharon Alley, observing the stop from Sharon Alley and Union Street. As the officers were conducting their investigation, Norley yelled several times "That's them. I want them arrested" in a loud voice from around 100-to-120 feet away. Cpl. Baumann testified that she warned Norley to leave the scene at least 4-to-5 times; Ofc. Cugino testified the had warned Norley twice himself. The yelling continued for nearly two minutes before Cpl. Baumann warned Norley one last time that if he didn't leave, he would be cited for Disorderly Conduct. After failing to heed the warnings, Cpl. Baumann informed Norley that he would be recieve a citation in the mail, to which Norley said "That's just f***ing great!"
During the ped stop on Sharon Alley, both officers testified that Norley's actions were interfering with their ability to conduct the investigation. During his testimony, Norley claimed that the fact he was only trying to identify the subjects from the initial allegations of threats and reiterated that he was about 100 feet away from the officers during the entire incident.
The Commonwealth and defense counsel Sam Streeton jointly presented into evidence five 9-1-1 calls placed to WCPD dispatchers Paul Widmayer and Christopher Jones on the night in question. On the first two calls regarding the incident Norley was complaing about, some verbal interaction between an unknown number of actors and Norley was noticable during the call. The third call related to the incident in which one of the subjects allegedly took the photo of Norley; the fourth call was after Cpl. Baumann informed Norley that the citation would be issued, in which he requsted to speak to a supervisor; the final call was when Norley made mention of the threats made towards his wife and on that call, he threatened to go down to borough hall and call the mayor and police chief.
During arguements, Stretton presented case law that supported Norley's contention that his actions did not constitute a violation of the Disorderly Conduct statute in that his purpose to assist the police in identifying the supects was indeed a legitimate purpose. The Commonwealth countered that Norley's actions served no legitimate purpose and created a risk to the officers due to his allegedly "tumultuous behavior."
After Nathanial Smith, a neighbor of Norley's, was presented as a charater witness, Judge Gavin announced that he would need time to review the evidence and testimony and that a verdict would be handed down tomorrow. The Commonwealth was given until tomorrow to present relevant case law for the court's consideration. Stretton waived his client's right to be present for the veridct. And, that should have been the end of it except for the verdict...
Except that a representative of the bail agency, who was scheduled to appear in front of Judge Gavin on an unrelated matter, informed the court that Norley had a bench warrant issued by Judge Bruno. The warrant was for a particularly heinous offense that certainly had to be addressed at once and that Norley would have to be arrested and brought before Judge Bruno.
The offense? An parking ticket for "overtime parking meter" with a $87.21 fine (15-1-01, TR-00004829-07). Seriously...
For the next 10-15 minutes, there seemed to be confusion as to whether the Sheriff's Office would be responsible for confirming the warrant and taking Norley to District Court or if WCPD would address the matter. At least 4 deputies made their way to the hallway outside of Courtroom #5, prepared to take Norley into custody. Meanwhile, Cpl. Baumann made the decision to contact WCPD dispatch to send an officer over to the courthouse and let WCPD take care of the issue. Ultimately, and almost ironically, Ofc. Cugino returned to the Courthouse to serve the warrant and take Norley to Judge Bruno's court to address the ticket. According to court records, Norley paid the fine plus $27.50 in additional court costs...
In short there are several ways to look at this entire episode:
For starters, it was bad enough that two WCPD officers, one of whom was on scheduled patrol duty, were tied up in court due to circumstances out of their control, namely the sluggish court management and scheduling. To wit, why would Court Administration schedule a civil hearing on a day when several summary appeals and violations of probation were scheduled? I'm sure that the civil hearing could've come up at the last minute, but still...
Why would the Commonwealth go full throttle in prosecuting this case when I've seen a couple of non-jury criminal trials resolved in less time than this appeal took (it took a total of an hour-and-a-half, not counting the lunch recess, to run the trial). When the summary trial was held in front of Judge Knapp, it was scheduled right in the middle of a Criminal Day, which, according to some accounts, completely slowed down the entire session even worse than usual; considering there are days in which those sessions are slow and erratic to being with, it must have really been a mess...
For that matter, why would Norley seek to proceed with an appeal with such zealousness, other than what could be explained as a "matter of principle." Norley's outspokeness about the misbehavior of college students - alleged and proven - in the South Walnut Street neighborhood is legendary, particularly the repeated complaints made in front of Borough Council over the years. The irony is that the Commonwealth essentially charged Norley for the same behavior that he has been combating for years...
And finally, there's the little issue over the bench warrant for the parking ticket. Granted, it would've been in Norley's best interest to address that matter sooner before it went to warrant, however here's an interesting paradox that I've noticed over the past couple years. Some constables in the county are notorious for first confirming an active traffic or non-traffic summary warrant - or in the case of some defendants multiple warrants - and simply directing them to court. One such defendant reportedly had no fewer than 10 outstanding summary bench warrants after a traffic stop by a WCPD officer, only to have the constables simply request the officer direct the defendant to court. Now, to be fair, the warrant could've been confirmed directly by the court and the judge could've requested that Norley be brought in right away. But still, to drag someone off in handcuffs after a very long and stressful day in court over a parking ticket that was less than $100 borders on overkill. Not to mention the fact that had the little turf war between the Sheriff's Office and the WCPD over how to handle the matter. (Now if it was a warrant for a criminal case, that's another story.)
In any event, a recap of some of the other cases (assuming that I stop procrastinating and get around to posting those cases here) will be posted by the end of the week. Despite what looked like a promising week full of pleas and possible trials, a lot of the matters of interest were continued to the next trial terms. Still, I'll post what I can which isn't as much as I'd have liked, but that's the quirk of the court system, I guess...
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