Six cases, headlined by a nearly hour-long preliminary hearing, capped a relatively quick day at 15-1-04's Criminal Day. Four defendants waived up to Common Pleas Court, including "frequent flier" Benjamin Larone Boggs, who waived up a single count of Defiant Trespassing after an arrest last week; he remains free on 10 percent of $500 bail despite two active cases in Common Pleas Court (15-1-04, CR-0000303-07). A 5th defendant entered into a summary disposition agreement on charges of Terrorist Threats and related offenses...
The day's lone hearing was a rather contentious one at that. In the matter of Commonwealth vs. Mourad Nechab (15-1-04, CR-0000302-07), the 40-year-old West Chester resident stood accused of attempting to kill his wife and 9-year-old daughter nearly two weeks ago. On September 17 at 00:11, WCPD units were dispatched to the report of a physical domestic which later was upgraded to a stabbing call. The wife of the defendant testified that Nechab allegedly tried to choke her during the course of a domestic dispute. As he was choking her, she testified that he had repeatedly said, "You're going to get killed tonight." She was able to escape at that point and retire to the bedroom.
Later that night, Nechab allegedly confronted his wife again, initially by putting a pillow over her head and repeated the earlier threats. In the course of that incident, Nechab then stabbed his wife 7-to-8 times on the left side of her body. She then ran out of the apartment and began knocking on doors seeking help. Nechab, meanwhile, then confronted his 9-year-old daughter, allegedly striking her in the head with a chair, then stabbing her. The daughter suffered cuts to the head, nose, and neck and had a finger that was sliced, to which a nurse on scene was tending to. Both patients were flown to trauma centers as a result of their injuries.
Police then arrived and placed Nechab under arrest; as he was in handcuffs, Nechab could be heard repeatedly saying, "I just killed my family." Ofc. Jeff Gallo testified that he arrived on scene and saw blood on the walls and carpet leading from the crime scene. Within the apartment, Ofc. Gallo saw blood all over the kitchen and couch from the attack, a broken wooden chair with two of the legs broken off and blood down the side of it, and two knifes - a broken steak knife found in the dining room and a non-serrated knife with the blade found in the living room and handle found on the kitchen floor.
While the daughter's testimony was provided in a closed courtroom, it was observed that she had been looking away from the defendant during the course of her testimony; Nechab was also seen breaking down in tears during the course of the hearing. The wife had also offered her testimony while looking away at the defendant; it didn't stop defense attorney Stephen Baer from putting her through an intense 25 minute cross-examination which bordered on badgering.
Ultimately, Nechab was held for trial on all counts, including two counts of Criminal Homicide, four counts of Aggravated Assault, three counts of Possession of an Instrument of Crime, two counts each of Simple Assault and Recklessly Endangering Another Person, and one count each of Attempted Homicide, Terroristic Threats, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
In a sign of either complete confidence or stupidity, Baer actually attempted to argue for a reduced bail. After arguements by Assistant DA Christina Pelosi that Nechab was not a U.S. Citizen, making him a significant flight risk, and that he was on a two-year probation period for an April 2006 incident in West Goshen, in which he pled no contest to Aggravated Assault in front of Judge Ronald Nagle (CP-15-CR-0002534-2006). Baer also argued that Nechab had a detainer lodged against him as a result of a violation, and that even with a reduced bail, Nechab wasn't going anywhere. Nechab's bail was doubled from the $250,000 at the time of his arrest to $500,000.
After the dust settled, three defendants were arraigned on criminal charges:
Mark Cassian Capriotti, 19, of Bristol, Bucks County, was arraigned on charges of Aggravated Assault, Escape, Resisting Arrest, and Underage Drinking in a complaint filed by Ofc. Christopher Craig. He was released from custody on $5,000 unsecured bail and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for next Friday in front of Judge Knapp (15-1-04, CR-0000316-07).
Kevin M. Corr, 20, of Moorestown, N.J., was arraigned on charges of Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphanalia, and Underage Drinking in a complaint filed by Cpl. Pam Baumann. He was released on $1.00 nominal bail and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for next Friday (15-1-04, CR-0000315-07).
Jesus Munoz Maceda, 30, of West Chester, was arraigned on charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphanalia, Public Drunkeness, and Disorderly Conduct after an incident on the WCU campus according to a complaint filed by WCUPD Ofc. Patrick Ehmann. His bail was set at $5,000 unsecured and his preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday in front of Judge Bruno (15-1-01, CR-0000259-07).
And finally, there's the "catch and release" of James B. Allison. Allison had failed to appear for his preliminary hearing last week on drug related charges. The good news was that he was arrested on the outstanding bench warrant and several non-traffic warrants; the bad news is that his bail was restored despite having failed to appear for court and having two other cases pending in front of Judge Knapp. His preliminary hearing on the case he failed to appear for last week was rescheduled for October 5; he also has a preliminary hearing scheduled on Ofc. John DiBattista's charges next Friday. Here's hoping Allison's next arrest is on the west side of town...
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