Four hearings and three bench warrants highlighted a 16 case docket at 15-1-04's Criminal Day, presided over by Parkesburg District Judge Nancy Gill, who apparently doesn't have the same flair for punctuality as Valley District Judge Grover Koon, who cleared nearly as many cases last week in under an hour. Today's criminal day took nearly 4 hours to complete, which is not a particularly efficent way to run a court, especially from the perspective of officers waiting to adjudicate their respective cases and get back out on patrol or from witnesses who have to take time out of their busy schedules to address these cases because of criminals and their alleged actions. In any case...
The first hearing of the day was Commonwealth vs. Matthew Michael Rothhaar (15-1-04, CR-0000093-07), who faced charges relating to two separate hit-and-run accidents while driving under the influence of drugs. At around 20:00 on March 1, a witness testified that Rothhaar, 25, of West Chester, struck a parked vehicle at South High and Union streets, then followed the defendant through the east end before striking a second vehicle at Market andAdams streets. While the witness followed the striking vehicle, Rothhaar alledegly ran several stop signs before striking a second car at Market and Adams.
After the second accident, the defendant allegedly fled from the scene on foot before being arrested at the fenceline to the rear of the TD BankNorth building. Upon arrival, Ofc. Jeffrey Gallo testified that he asked what substance the defendant was on. In a search incident to arrest, Ofc. Gallo spotted a syringe and an unmarked pill bottle in plain view containing several pills, which were found to be a controlled substance after testing by the State Police Lima labs. The lab report from the defendant's blood work determined that Rothhaar was under the influence of cocaine, marijuana, Zanax, and morphine at the time of the accidents.
Rothhaar was held for trial on charges of Driving Under the Influence of a Controlled Substance, Accident Involving Damage to an Attended Vehicle, two counts of Accident Involving Damage to an Unattended Vehicle, three drug-related charges, two stop sign violations, and Careless Driving. He remains free on $5,000 unsecured bail...
The second hearing was actually a hearing in absentia, as the defendant had failed to appear for court for the second week in a row. Donald Williams, 22, of Philadelphia, failed to appear for his preliminary hearing last week and saw his bail re-set at 10 percent of $5,000, which he was somehow able to post. Again, Williams failed to appear in District Court, and with due notice given last week by Judge Koon, was tried in absentia. During the hearing, Ofc. A.J. McCarthy testified that he responded to the report of a suspicious vehicle on the 100 block of East Gay Street on April 8 at around 01:15.
Upon arrival, Ofc. McCarthy and back-up officers ordered the four occupants out of the vehicle and placed them under arrest. During a search of the car, officers recovered a firearm, though it's not known who was ultimately charged with possessing the gun. When Williams was taken out of the patrol car, 3 small ziplock baggies containing what was later determined to be a total of 2 grams of marijuana was found in the back seat of the patrol car; the items were sent to the PSP Lima labs for testing. Williams was held for trial on one count of Possession of a Small Amount of Marijuana and one count of Possession of Drug Paraphanalia and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest (15-1-04, CR-0000123-07)...
Next was the matter of Commonwealth vs. Michelle Adderton (15-1-04, CR00000187-07). Adderton was charged with interfering with an arrest of an assault suspect on June 2. At around 01:15, Ofc. Greg Cugino was en route to the 100 block of East Gay Street to assist WCPD and West Goshen officers on a foot pursuit of a suspect wanted for an assault, which resulted in the victim being taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center. The actor in that case was apprehended in the Miller's Welding parking lot at Matlack and Market Streets.
Ofc. Cugino testified that Adderton, 36, of West Chester, was using vulgar language and being loud and disorderly while officers were attempting to handcuff the suspect from the assault. Adderton was told no fewer than 3 times to leave the area or face arrest. Adderton's remarks were loud enough to draw a crowd of at least 25-to-35 people in the area, causing additional concerns for police as they were addressing the arrest of the assault suspect. Adderton was not arrested at the scene out of concerns that it would cause a further disturbance, though she was taken into custody the following weekend.
Adderton was held on charges of Obstructing the Administration of Law or Other Governmental Function and four counts of Disorderly Conduct. She remains free on $2,000 unsecured bail...
The fourth and final hearing of the day was the matter of Commonwealth vs. Charles Faddis (15-1-04, CR-0000200-07). Ofc. Harry O'Neill testified that on Monday at around 14:30, he was on patrol near the YMCA when he had been advised that the defendant was sitting on a park bench on the southwest corner of Chestnut and Walnut streets staring into the YMCA where several children under the age of 12 were in the pool area. In the past, police had recieved complaints about Faddis staring at children and compaints about lewd conduct by the defendant in public park areas (though it should be noted that a check of the AOPC web site shows no known prior criminal cases filed against Faddis in Common Pleas Court).
Ofc. O'Neill then proceeded to question Faddis and at least twice asked him to leave the area. When he refused, Faddis was then placed under arrest, an arrest observed by numerous witnesses, including a Constable. As he was being placed into custody, Faddis allegedly threatened the officer's life, saying that if Faddis wasn't released, then Ofc. O'Neill "would not wake up in the morning." Upon arrival at the station, Lt. Jeff Johnson assisted Ofc. O'Neill in processing Faddis, who twice repeated his threats made in the back of the patrol car, while also threatening to "put a hole in (O'Neill's) head."
Faddis was ultimately held for Common Pleas Court on charges of Terroristic Threats and Disorderly Conduct; charges of Simple Assault were dismissed. Faddis remains at Chester County Prison in lieu of 10 percent of $10,000 bail and is reported to be awaiting a psychiatric evlauation...
Two other defendants failed to appear for their respective hearings and had bench warrant issued against them. Marvin Dion Manley, 41, of West Chester, had been cited for Possession of Drug Paraphanalia on an incident that occured on May 19 (15-1-04, CR-0000172-07). Having failed to appear for his scheduled hearing, Judge Gill issued a warrant for Manley's arrest...
Michael W. Way, 36, of West Chester, was scheduled for a summary trial on charges of Driving Under a Suspended Driver's License (DUI related). Way was pulled over by Ofc. David Hammond on a traffic stop on May 19; a records check determined that Way's license was listed as suspended until 2015 after multiple DUI arrests over the years. By failing to appear, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest (15-1-04, TR-0004091-07)...
The next Criminal Day at 15-1-04 will be July 13...
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