WEST SIDE CRIMINAL DAY - 7/10/07

Stop me if you've heard this one, but once again, there were no preliminary hearings held today during 15-1-01's Criminal Day. It makes one wonder if it's even worth showing up, but with my luck, the one criminal day that I miss at 15-1-01 would probably have 6 or 7 preliminary hearings. Anyway...

The courtroom was still buzzing over the arrests of the two suspects in Monday's homicide on South Adams Street, including the circumstances behind the arrest of one suspect in New Jersey (see previous post for the particulars). Other than that, of the 15 cases listed on today's docket, seven cases were continued, four cases were waived to Common Pleas Court, three cases were withdrawn in lieu of summary charges, and one defendant had a bench warrant issued against him for failing to appear. Now, the highlights (such as they are):

• Elliot Young, 18, of West Chester, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on five conspiracy charges (two of Possession With Intent to Deliver, two of Corruption of Minors, and one of Furishing Liquor to Minors) and one count of Hindering Prosecution. While the defendant failed to appear in court, his father did, claiming that his son had no defense counsel. That didn't impress Judge Bruno, who issued a bench warrant for Young (15-1-01, CR-0000176-07).
• Damion Marcel Gaskins, 29, of Washington, D.C. was in West Chester to visit relatives when, on July 5, he was arrested by P/O John O'Hare on one count of Possession of a Small Amount of Marijuana. The drug charge was withdrawn in lieu of a guilty plea to Disorderly Conduct, with Gaskins credited for time served since his arrest and released (15-1-01, CR-0000181-07).
• Meshech J. Osbourne, 21, of Philadelphia, was charged with Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphanalia, and Public Drunkeness in April after an incident on the WCU campus. At his arraignment, he entered into a 90-day agreement, in which the drug charges would be withdrawn if conditions of the agreement were complied with. Naturally, one of the conditions was to appear at all future court dates; today was one such date, and naturally, Osbourne failed to appear. As such, a warrant was issued for his arrest and the case automatically bound to Common Pleas Court (15-1-01, CR-0000080-07).
• Daniel Hugh Deneen, 38, of Royersford, Montgomery County, was charged by Chester County Detectives with Insurance Fraud and related offenses after allegedly filing a false claim with the County for injuries he alleged were sustained while on County property during the course of his employement. Those claims were proven false, and charges were filed. At his court appearance today, Deneen waived his preliminary hearing and applied for the ARD program for first-time non-violent offenders (15-1-01, CR-0000163-07).

And with that, another slow West Side Criminal Day is in the books...