Despite seven scheduled prelminary hearings (which would've been nine if attorneys for two of the defendants hadn't requested last minute continuances, much to the frustration of the arresting officers) and a 1543-B hearing, today's Criminal Day at 15-1-04 dragged on due to the fact that three preliminary hearings took place, with the last one being a very contentous matter. One case was withdrawn, one case was waived to Common Pleas Court after a failure to comply with an summary agreement, one case was continued to next week due to a scheduling snafu, and one defendant failed to appear for court after his arrest last week...
The first hearing was the matter of Commonwealth vs. William John Brown III (15-1-04, CR-0000198-07). Brown, 25, of West Chester, faced charges of Simple Assault, Harassment, Disorderly Conduct, and Public Drunkeness. On June 17 at 01:55, Brown's alleged victim testified that she and a group of friends left Baxter's after a night of drinking. As she left, the defendant was arguing with other people after being ejected from the bar when he directed a vulgarity towards her. After a brief interaction, the victim attempted to leave the area to avoid escalating the problem. At that point, Brown allegedly threw a punch at one of the victim's male friends, then punched her in the chest. The victim testified that she fell backwards and hit the ground and was kicked and stomped upon while on the ground. The victim positively identified Brown after he left the scene and was apprehended by WCPD officers. The victim suffered injuries to her arm, chest, and shoulder, however did not require hospitalization. Brown was held for trial on all counts and is presently free on $5,000 unsecured bail...
In the second hearing, Tonya Renee Thompson, 34, of West Chester, faced two counts of Aggravated Assault, two counts of Simple Assault, and one count of Recklessly Endangering Another Person after a domestic incident earlier this month. On August 7 at 22:10, Thompson's boyfriend testified that he was at his house on the 200 block of South Matlack Street when Thompson allegedly struck him in the head with a glass bottle of vodka while she was intoxicated. The victim testified that he suffered a cut over his forehead that required 5 stitches to close and that he had lost consciousness for about 2-to-3 minutes after the assault. He also testified, however, that he did not believe the assault to be intentional. As such, one of the Aggravated Assault counts was dismissed, specifically, sub-section A4 of Title 18, Section 2702 (Aggravated Assault) which requires the defendant to "(attempt) to cause or intentionally or knowingly causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon"; the remaining counts were held for Common Pleas Court.
Thompson had been arrested on Wednesday on a detainer from the Adult Probation Department, however, after consulting with the bail agency and with APO, Judge Knapp modified Thompson's bail to $5,000 unsecured. The bail conditions were modified from "no contact" with the victim to "no criminal contact"...
The final hearing of the day turned out to be the most contentious. For the third time in two weeks, Michelle Lee "Doobie" Adderton appeared in front of Judge Knapp; Adderton faced 10 counts of Intimidation of a Witness relating to a preliminary hearing held two weeks ago (15-1-04, CR-0000278-07). On two separate occasions, Adderton allegedly made threats to a witness who had ultimately testified against her and co-defendant Shabazz Ray on charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance With Intent to Deliver.
On August 15 at around 15:00, Cpl. Josh Lee testified that the witness was approached by Adderton in the center of town the previous day. The witness alleged that Adderton said that if he testified at that preliminary hearing, she told him, "You would get yours." The witness interpreted that statement to be a threat. The witness indicated he had expressed fear over his well being as a result of that interaction. Two days later, on the day of the preliminary hearing at Judge Knapp's court, the witness reported to Ofc. Christopher Craig that he was again approached by Adderton, who had allegedly made a death threat to the witness. Both officers indicated that the witness' statements to police on both occasions were recorded. The witness did not appear for court today out of concern for his safety, however it was implied that he would be available to testify at Common Pleas Court if needed.
After heated arguements from both sides, Judge Knapp held all counts for Common Pleas Court. From there, things got really heated as the issue of bail was addressed. After nearly an hour of back and forth debate between both counsels, the bail agency and Judge Knapp, it was agreed that Adderton's bail be modified from the current $5,000 cash bail to 10 percent of $10,000 with electronic home monitoring which would restrict her to either her place of employment or her residence.
The pressing arguement against modifying the bail was the fact that the bail agency made clear to Adderton that she was to have no contact with any witness involved in the drug case, and that she had violated that order with the new allegations. Adderton's public defender, however argued that her client was gainfully employed and that there were concerns about the care of her two children. Perhaps she should've thought about her children when she was allegedly committing these crimes leading to the three cases, but that's another story.
The Commonwealth indicated that they would seek to file an expeditied bail motion in Common Pleas Court which, timing permitting, would be heard in front of Judge Howard F. Riley, Jr. as part of his Miscellaneous Case List next week. Based on a preliminary glance at the Misc. List, it appears that matter could be addressed as early as Wedensday...
Meanwhile, in other court matters...
Kurt David Christman, 20, of Wyomissing, Berks County, was scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on charges of Aggravated Assault, Simple Assualt, Escape, Fleeing/Eluding Police, and related offenses after last week's chase through the borough. Last Friday, he was arrainged by Judge Knapp and ordered held on $5,000 cash bail, which was posted that day. Christman, however, failed to appear for his hearing today. As such, his bail was forfeited and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest (15-1-04, CR-0000286-07)...
Joshua Michael McNally, 25, of Glenmoore, had appeared in court for a compliance hearing on a summary disposition agreement on charges of Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphanalia, Disorderly Conduct and Public Drunkeness. McNally had failed to comply with the community service component of the agreement; initially he was given a one-week continuance, however Judge Knapp later reversed that decision and automatically waived his case to Common Pleas Court (15-1-04, CR-0000094-07). McNally remain free on $1,500 unsecured bail...
That wrapped up what started off as a routine day at 15-1-04 but ended up with some fireworks. Not a bad way to start the Labor Day weekend...
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