COMMONWEALTH VS DONOVAN

There haven't been too many trials - much less jury trials - involving West Chester defendants of late, so to kill the time, here's one from the wonderful world that is Coatesville. In the matter of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Glenn M. Donovan (CP-15-CR-0000487-2007), the defendant faces charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance and two traffic offenses following an incident late last year. The trial, being heard by Judge Howard F. Riley, Jr., started off when some members of the jury seemed to have a difficult time figuring out which seats they were supposed to be sitting in. It was, to say the least, almost surreal to see jurors jockeying within the jury box to figure out their assigned seats in one of those "you had to be there to see for yourself" moments.

Following the opening arguements, Cpl. Chris McEvoy testified that on December 9, 2006 at around 22:30, he and his partner, Det. Sean Murrin were on a roving surveillance operation in the area of 4th Avenue and Elm Street when they observed a truck driven by the defendant circling the area, arousing their suspicions. Cpl. McEvoy testified that he observed the vehicle pull into a driveway where an unknown male entered the vehicle for a few seconds then got out of the vehicle. The vehicle then drove off for a few blocks before the officers stopped the car on Blackhorse Hill Road. Cpl. McEvoy interviewed the defendant while Det. Murrin interviewed the female passenger. During the course of the investigation, Det. Murrin spotted several small off-white colored rocks, suspected to be cocaine, on the bench seat of the truck and within reach of the defendant.

While at the Coatesville police station, the defendant allegedly inquired about the status of the female passenger. When Cpl. McEvoy said that she would be charged with possession of cocaine, the defendant allegedly said to the officer, "I don't want her to get jammed up over this. The stuff is mine."

The trial continues tomorrow morning at 10:00 in Courtroom #6. The jury is expected to get the case by as early as this afternoon.