Not too many cases heard today at 15-1-04's Criminal Day. Out of the 15 cases listed on today's docket, 8 were continued, 3 were waived to Common Pleas Court, one defendant has his bail revoked and a warrant issued for his arrest, and one case was withdrawn, with the only hearing today relating to an assault outside an Uptown bar that led to a wild foot chase through the East End...
The lone hearing today was a double hearing, Commonwealth vs. Eric Cruz (15-1-01, CR-0000180-07) and Commonwealth vs. Joel Mariano Mejias (15-1-04, CR-0000182-07). The incident stemmed from an assault on June 2 outside the Spare Rib on East Gay Street. At around 01:30 that morning, units were dispatched to the 100 block of East Gay Street for the report of an assault in progress. One witness, who was with a group of friends, observed the fight and saw Cruz punching the alleged victim more than 10 times and kicked the victim at least 3 or 4 times. When the witness threatened to call the police, Cruz and Meijas fled eastbound on Gay towards Matlack Street.
Moments later, P/O A.J. McCarthy stopped the two defendants at Miner and Matlack Streets. Cruz then fled eastbound on Miner while P/O McCarthy placed Meijas in handcuffs and into the back of his patrol car before going after Cruz. The foot pursuit of Cruz led officers over several rooftops along the 200 block of East Market before Cruz jumped nearly 20 feet onto Middle Alley; moments later, Cruz was tackled and arrested at Matlack and Market.
The victim had testified that he was out at several bars, though he had done all his drinking prior to going out. He had approached the Spare Rib when one of the defendants reportedly asked him a question, though he didn't recall specifics. Due to his injuries, he testified, he was unable to recall a lot of specifics about the night. He ended up spending 2 1/2 days at Crozer-Chester Medical Center with an orbital fracture of the left eye, a laceration to the right eye, and injuries to the knee. Adding insult to injury for the victim was the fact that he ended up getting released from the hospital and into state custody on a parole violation.
Despite the contention that Meijas was not actively involved in the assault, both defendants were held for trial in Common Pleas Court on assault and related offenses - Cruz was held on charges of Aggravated Assault, 2 counts of Simple Assault, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Terroristic Threats, Escape, and Conspiracy with charges of Flight to Avoid Prosecution withdrawn and is being held at Chester County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail; Meijas was held on charges of Aggravated Assault, 2 counts of Simple Assault, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Terroristic Threats, and Conspiracy and remains at Chester County Prison in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Meanwhile, Earl Taylor Deveaux, 21, of Coatesville, was arraigned this afternoon for his role in a shooting on the 300 block of East Barnard Street last night. Deveaux faces charges of Attempted Criminal Homicide, Aggravated Assault, Simple Assault, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Terroristic Threats, Carrying a Firearm Without a License, and Offensive Weapons. He was committed to Chester County Prison in lieu of $250,000 bail (15-1-04, CR-0000225-07).
No comments:
Post a Comment