After two consecutive weeks of no preliminary hearings, there was finally something interesting to report on at today's criminal day in front of Judge Bruno...
In an incident that was reported upon last week, Stephen Giffing, 51, was charged with Simple Assault and Harassment charges after he allegedly assaulted his step-mother during a Mother's Day domestic dispute. At around 20:50 on May 13th, the victim testified that she and the defendant had a verbal arguement at her residence on the 300 block of West Ashbridge. After the victim ordered the defendant to leave, he had initally done so, however not too long after that, Giffing allegedly grabbed a hold of her arms and threw her against the hood of her car. After the victim's husband took her inside the house, the defendant allegedly dragged her outside of the house and threw her into the flower bed. The victim suffered bruises along her hands and her arms and was in such shock that, according to her testimony, was unable to move or speak. She was treated on the scene by GFAC and Medic 91.
Giffing was held on both counts and remains commited to Chester County Prison in lieu of $5,000 cash bail. In addition to this case, Giffing also faces charges stemming from a DUI arrest in West Bradford by State Police/Embreeville with a hearing in Common Pleas Court scheduled for June 18th in front of Judge Nagle. (15-2-06, CR-0000448-06; CP-15-CR-0001843-2007).
In other matters before the court, one unfortunate defendant is about to learn the hard way what happens when you fail to appear for a preliminary hearing. Patrick Cunningham, 21, of Bensalem, Bucks County, was scheduled to appear for a hearing on drug possession, drug paraphanalia, and disorderly conduct charges filed by WCU Police on April 24. He had been issued a citation and summoned to appear in front of Judge Bruno, however failed to do so. As such, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest, despite numerous attempts by police to contact him.
In a similar matter, a 26-year-old West Chester man was brought in front of Judge Bruno on multiple arrest warrants spread over three different courts. Andrew Jordan had been pulled over for driving under a suspended registration when a records check confirmed outstanding warrants amounting to nearly $2,500, apparently mostly relating to parking tickets over several years. It was unknown as of this posting whether or not Jordan was able to post a sufficent payment to avoid being committed to Chester County Prison...
On the flip side, a defendant facing drug possession and underage drinking charges saw his case dismissed after the officer failed to appear for court. Vinay Desai, 19, of Lansdale, Montgomery County, was present in court with his attorney and was ready to proceed when the case was called. However, the WCU officer was unavailable and apparently failed to notify the court of such. It's unknown whether the charges would be refiled, however... (15-1-01, CR-0000091-07)
As for the rest of the court docket, 2 defendants facing DUI charges waived in lieu of applying for the Accelerated Rehabiliation Disposition (ARD) program for first-time offenders; 4 defendants had hearings continued, while a 5th defendant facing drug charges had his hearing continued pending an agreement which, if complied with, would result in reduction of charges to summary offenses, leading to the case ending at the District Court level.
Another defendant with two drug cases pending had his hearing continued to June 26; the week earlier, his girlfriend had appeared in front of Judge Bruno on similar charges and had her reduced to summary offenses.
Of the four defendants who had hearings continued, one defendant, Efrain Silvestre-Luna, 21, of West Chester, was committed to Chester County Prison in lieu of $10,000 cash bail on DUI, drug paraphanalia charges, and traffic offenses stemming from an accident that occured on Wednesday. His hearing was continued to June 26 (15-1-01; CR-0000142-07).
No criminal day is schedule for next Tuesday due to the Memorial Day holiday (probably just a quirk of the system); next criminal day at 15-1-01 will be June 5.
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