West Chester Unplugged v.2.0

ASSISTANCE INFO AT WEST CHESTER Y TODAY

2009-11-10T00:26:00.001-05:00

WEST CHESTER – The Chester County Department of Community Development along with other agencies are hosting a forum this afternoon in West Chester designed to promote county and state services designed for those needing assistance during the Bush-created, Obama-accelerated recession.

The "Here to Help" event will take place between 15:00 and 19:00 this afternoon at the West Chester Area YMCA located at the corner of East Chestnut and North Walnut Streets. The event is designed to bring the various social service and governmental agencies together to provide information regarding re-employment training, financial planning, food program, rental assistance, avoiding foreclosure, utility assistance, and other programs.

In addition to the CCDCD, these agencies are scheduled to have representatives on hand:

Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
Pennsylvania Department of Insurance
Pennsylvania CareerLink
Chester County Workforce Investment Board
Community Impact Legal Services

For more information regarding this event, contact the CCDCD at (610) 344-6900.

STATE PAROLEE BUSTED ON WCU CAMPUS

2009-11-09T23:58:00.001-05:00

EAST BRADFORD – A Philadelphia man on state parole for prior theft offenses in the city and Montgomery County is in custody after allegedly breaking into three apartments on the West Chester University campus over the past four days.

WCU Police responded to the South Campus Apartment complex on four separate occasions between Friday afternoon and early this evening for reports of burglaries and uninvited persons, all of which allegedly involving one Julius A. Collier, 25, of the 100 block of East Mayland Avenue, Germantown, Philadelphia.

The first incident occurred on Friday at 15:20, when a female resident of one apartment reported that a laptop which had been on her desk was removed from the apartment. She had reported seeing a black male wearing a red jacket loitering outside the apartment.

The second incident occurred on Saturday at 12:29, when a female resident of a different apartment observed a black male wearing a red jacket and with a tattoo in the middle of his forehead in her apartment. She told police that he had entered her apartment without permission and had never heard him knock on the door or announce his entry.

The third incident was reported yesterday afternoon at 12:28, when the female resident of yet another apartment reported that a black male had entered her apartment unannounced and slowly entered her room until she spotted him. The suspect fled shortly after the resident spotted him.

The final incident that led to Collier's arrest took place a short time later at 16:00, when residents of a fourth apartment spotted a subject matching the description of the perp from the three earlier incidents. The residents told police that they were missing various valuable items from their respective rooms.

Det. Sgt. Matt Paris located Collier shortly after he arrived on scene. Collier was reportedly wearing a red jacket at the time he was taken into custody, and also had a noticeable tattoo on his forehead – among other parts of his head and neck. After the victims positively identified Collier as the man who entered their apartments, Collier was taken into custody.

Collier has had five separate criminal cases dating back to 2002:

February 16, 2002: Ofc. James Pitts of the Philadelphia Police Department's 14^th District arrests Collier after the suspect was reportedly spotted in a stolen vehicle in Northwest Philadelphia. Collier is charged with TBUT, Receiving Stolen Property, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle (CP-51-CR-0901471-2002).
May 28, 2002: While on bail for the first stolen vehicle case, Collier is arrested by Ofc. Donald Suchinsky of the 14^th District and charged with TBUT, Receiving Stolen Property, Criminal Mischief, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, and Criminal Conspiracy (CP-51-CR-0706671-2002).
July 1, 2002: As if he didn't learn the first time, Collier is arrested by Ofc. Hector Maldonado of the 14^th District and charged with TBUT, Receiving Stolen Property, and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle (CP-15-CR-0706681-2002).
July 8, 2002: Collier is ordered held for trial on all counts on the May 2002 and the July 2002 case after hearings in front of Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Edward Mekel.
August 23, 2002: Collier is ordered held for trial on all counts on the February 2002 case after a preliminary hearing in front of Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Felice Rowley Stack.
September 27, 2002: Collier pleads guilty to three separate TBUT counts in front of Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Thomas Dempsey and is sentenced to 6-to-23 months at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility to be followed by 2 years of probation consecutive to parole.
February 4, 2005: Collier is arrested yet again by 14^th District officers; this time, Ofc. Fred Wiley charges Collier with TBUT and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle (CP-51-CR-0203131-2005).
February 9, 2005: Collier is ordered held for trial after a preliminary hearing in front of Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Teresa Deni.
April 6, 2005: Collier pleads guilty to a charge of TBUT in front of Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Genece Brinkley and is sentenced to 2-to-23 months at CFCF to be followed by one year of probation consecutive to parole.
April 14, 2005: Collier is found to have violated his parole from the 2002 convictions; Judge Dempsey sentences Collier to 8-to-23 months at CFCF.
October 22, 2006: Collier expands his criminal empire into the suburbs when Ofc. Oswaldo Toledo of the Abington Township (Montgomery County) Police charges Collier with Retail Theft and Receiving Stolen Property. Collier is committed to Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $5,000 cash bail.
November 3, 2006: Collier is ordered held for trial on the Retail Theft charge after a preliminary hearing in front of Abington District Judge Juanita Price.
February 20, 2007: Collier is again found in violation of his parole on the 2002 convictions; Judge Dempsey revokes and reinstates the 8-to-23 month jail sentence; Collier was ordered to serve the balance of his parole term.
March 1, 2007: Collier pleads guilty to the misdemeanor Retail Theft charge in front of Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge William Furber and is sentenced to 129 days (time served) to 23 months at MCCF to be followed by one year of probation consecutive to parole (CP-46-CR-0008080-2006).
March 21, 2007: Collier is found to have violated his parole in the 2005 conviction; Judge Brinkley, apparently in a move that is unusual by Philadelphia standards, re-sentences Collier to a 2-to-4 year state prison sentence, to be followed by three years of state probation consecutive to parole.

Unlike most criminals who are go through the Philadelphia court system, Collier was arrested on four separate felony complaints and all four of his cases resulted in convictions in Common Pleas Court. To that extent, I don't care if Ms. Genece Brinkley is a Philadelphia Common Pleas judge (and, presumably, a Democrat), if she ever runs for Superior Court, she has my vote.

Collier was arraigned last night by West Chester District Judge Mark Bruno on three felony counts of Criminal Trespassing and committed to CCP in lieu of $7,500 cash bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday in front of Downingtown District Judge Rita Arnold (15-2-06, CR-0000562-09). Sources close to the case tell Unplugged that additional charges are possible, pending further investigation.

BREAKING DOWN THE SCHOOL BOARD RACE

2009-11-08T14:58:00.001-05:00

WEST CHESTER – The results of the West Chester Area School Board elections proved very few surprises, however some trends were very noticeable in reviewing the final results.

The Republican ticket of Sean Carpenter, John Wingerter, Maria Armandi Pimley, and Heidi Adsett swept the four open seats on the school board, defeating the Democrat ticket of Susan Spellman Tiernan, Susan Carty, Lisa Samuel, and Deborah Liczwek. How the final balloting played out is no surprise, considering the county's historic trend towards voting Republican in most local races.

Overall, the unofficial vote tallies were as follows:

TIERNAN		CARTY	SAMUEL	LICZWEK	CARPENTER	WINGERTER		PINLEY	ADSETT
7081		6893	6541	6423	8676	8787		8617	8757

The gap among the four Republican candidates was only 170 votes, compared to a 658 vote gap among the four Democrat candidates. More Republican straight ticket votes (4,284) were cast compared to Democrat straight ticket votes (2,313). This is relatively close to the county-wide straight ticket breakdown – there were 18,276 GOP straight ticket votes compared to only 9,676 Dem straight ticket votes. That leads one to believe that the GOP was far more effective in promoting their ticket compared to the Dems. (Note: the straight ticket figures do not include Thornbury, Delaware County; Delaware County's election web site, like the rest of the county's web site, is lacking for details compared to other counties.)

While Democrats received more votes and captured West Chester Borough (no surprise there, given the way that West Chester has devolved into a left-wing loony bin, at least politically), Republicans outpolled Democrats in the surrounding townships.

In East Goshen, the Republican ticket handily defeated the Dems, although the Dem ticket did split in East Goshen 4, which is the "triangle" in the deep southern end of the township south of West Chester Pike.

The strongest turn-out for the GOP came in East Goshen 5 and East Goshen 8; both precincts include portions of the Hershey's Mill retirement community (5 covers the west side of the development, 8 covers the east side). As was the case in East Bradford, the straight ticket balloting proved to be the difference for the GOP, as the margin was nearly 3-to-1 (compared to nearly 2-to-1 in the rest of the county).

TOWNSHIP	PRECINCT	STR D	STR R	DIFF	TIERNAN	CARTY	SAMUEL	LICZWEK	CARPENTER	WINGERTER	PINLEY	ADSETT
*East Goshen*	1	50	129	79	163	171	161	152	265	267	272	275
*East Goshen*	2	36	105	69	89	97	95	92	183	189	187	184
*East Goshen*	3	34	110	76	117	121	113	109	189	195	188	194
*East Goshen*	4	68	71	3	134	134	123	120	134	127	133	130
*East Goshen*	5	120	444	324	226	237	200	193	598	625	603	614
*East Goshen*	6	47	124	77	162	153	150	155	252	248	257	259
*East Goshen*	7	53	156	103	152	151	166	151	275	276	277	284
*East Goshen*	8	62	232	170	125	128	115	114	301	303	299	293
*East Goshen*	9	18	67	49	66	72	67	58	115	141	115	121
*East Goshen*	*TOTAL*	488	1438	950	1234	1264	1190	1144	2312	2371	2331	2354

Other than the fact that Delaware County has been a GOP stronghold for as long as anyone can recall, it's really difficult to break down the results in Thornbury, DelCo. Delaware County, unlike Chester County, does not break down election results by precinct, but it's probably fair to say that the GOP held their own.

PRECINCT

STR D

STR R

DIFF

TIERNAN

CARTY

SAMUEL

LICZWEK

CARPENTER

WINGERTER

PINLEY

ADSETT

Thornbury [D]

559

570

533

514

829

803

796

Thornbury [D]

TOTAL

559

570

533

514

829

803

796

The results in Thornbury, Chester County, were a lot closer than in the other townships. While the GOP had a 2-to-1 margin in the straight ticket category, the Dems held their own in both precincts. The margins in Thornbury 1 (east end of the township) were closer than they were in Thornbury 2 (west end of the township and the Thornbury development).

	PRECINCT	STR D	STR R	DIFF	TIERNAN	CARTY	SAMUEL	LICZWEK	CARPENTER	WINGERTER	PINLEY	ADSETT
*Thornbury [C]*	1	49	85	36	155	159	150	148	176	173	173	173
*Thornbury [C]*	2	32	72	40	134	126	125	114	156	157	147	147
*Thornbury [C]*	*TOTAL*	81	157	76	289	285	275	262	332	330	320	320

Westtown also proved to be closer than expected for the GOP, as like Thornbury, the GOP's straight ticket margin was only 2-to-1. The Dems, however, made it relatively close in Westtown 2 (northwest end) and Westtown 5 (west of U.S. 202 and the Oakbourne development north of Oakbourne Road).

	PRECINCT	STR D	STR R	DIFF	TIERNAN	CARTY	SAMUEL	LICZWEK	CARPENTER	WINGERTER	PINLEY	ADSETT
*Westtown*	1	40	117	77	148	140	117	116	208	211	212	215
*Westtown*	2	57	87	30	122	121	114	119	159	165	169	166
*Westtown*	3	66	117	51	191	193	175	161	238	238	230	241
*Westtown*	4	61	110	49	149	142	130	128	188	196	196	192
*Westtown*	5	29	68	39	113	110	112	105	151	142	142	144
*Westtown*	*TOTAL*	253	499	246	723	706	648	629	944	952	949	958

In East Bradford, Republicans outpolled Dems in the straight ticket category, 558 to 271. Without the straight ticket votes, the Dems would've captured East Bradford with more non-straight ticket votes in all precincts except for South 2.

TOWNSHIP

PRECINCT

STR D

STR R

DIFF

TIERNAN

CARTY

SAMUEL

LICZWEK

CARPENTER

WINGERTER

PINLEY

ADSETT

East Bradford

N-1

105

101

106

120

117

116

East Bradford

N-2

144

234

216

206

260

266

263

268

East Bradford

S-1

202

115

297

287

267

280

334

319

327

328

East Bradford

S-2

152

176

161

158

155

285

299

288

309

East Bradford

TOTAL

271

558

287

812

765

730

747

999

1001

994

1021

West Goshen proved to be a lot closer than the rest of the townships in the District, as Dems captured three precincts – North 2 (north of Fern Hill Road, east of U.S. 202), Middle 2 (east of Five Points, north of West Chester Pike, south of Paoli Pike), and South 1 (south of Gay Street, west of Westtown Road – including the off-campus West Chester Commons student housing complex).

	PRECINCT	STR D	STR R	DIFF	TIERNAN	CARTY	SAMUEL	LICZWEK	CARPENTER	WINGERTER	PINLEY	ADSETT
*West Goshen*	*N-1*	45	108	63	153	142	134	134	187	194	181	180
*West Goshen*	*N-2*	26	59	33	129	113	121	112	106	115	102	104
*West Goshen*	*N-3*	40	114	74	138	127	124	117	239	246	242	243
*West Goshen*	*N-4*	49	104	55	138	126	127	126	215	225	220	228
*West Goshen*	*M-1*	49	52	3	109	112	102	106	111	110	109	111
*West Goshen*	*M-2*	65	66	1	156	159	157	155	144	143	139	141
*West Goshen*	*S-1*	58	43	-15	179	164	164	162	99	99	103	112
*West Goshen*	*S-2*	39	59	20	101	98	87	89	111	120	119	124
*West Goshen*	*S-3*	57	96	39	138	131	120	126	160	157	161	160
*West Goshen*	*S-4*	39	92	53	137	126	116	117	171	173	179	173
*West Goshen*	*TOTAL*	467	793	326	1378	1298	1252	1244	1543	1582	1555	1576

Dems also appeared to make some inroads in West Whiteland as well. While the GOP had more straight ticket voters in all seven precincts, the Dems outpolled the GOP in West Whiteland 2 (which includes the Exton Station condo complex) and West Whiteland 5 (east end of the township and the Indian King development).

	PRECINCT	STR D	STR R	DIFF	TIERNAN	CARTY	SAMUEL	LICZWEK	CARPENTER	WINGERTER	PINLEY	ADSETT
*West Whiteland*	1	33	76	43	127	122	110	111	176	180	173	177
*West Whiteland*	2	61	64	3	150	145	140	131	128	134	123	131
*West Whiteland*	3	8	24	16	34	33	32	36	47	49	45	44
*West Whiteland*	4	60	72	12	190	191	172	175	152	162	153	162
*West Whiteland*	5	62	137	75	180	171	173	163	238	229	227	230
*West Whiteland*	6	76	154	78	211	197	182	182	325	324	316	324
*West Whiteland*	7	40	90	50	82	85	82	77	128	132	127	136
*West Whiteland*	*TOTAL*	340	617	277	974	944	891	875	1194	1210	1164	1204

As noted, the only municipality where the GOP failed to win a single precinct was West Chester. The Dems outpolled the GOP in the straight ticket category by less than 2-to-1. However, it was clearly not enough to overcome the GOP's strong advantage in East Goshen.

	PRECINCT	STR D	STR R	DIFF	TIERNAN	CARTY	SAMUEL	LICZWEK	CARPENTER	WINGERTER	PINLEY	ADSETT
*West Chester*	1	85	58	-27	255	238	223	210	157	137	141	147
*West Chester*	*2-E*	30	2	-28	41	34	35	34	5	5	4	5
*West Chester*	*2-W*	37	11	-26	70	69	70	69	22	22	22	22
*West Chester*	3	38	24	-14	107	101	100	95	54	58	53	52
*West Chester*	4	30	11	-19	77	75	76	74	30	28	33	31
*West Chester*	5	53	34	-19	189	193	180	178	91	90	90	93
*West Chester*	6	61	39	-22	153	147	139	149	76	86	65	82
*West Chester*	7	79	43	-36	220	204	199	199	88	86	93	96
*West Chester*	*TOTAL*	413	222	-191	1112	1061	1022	1008	523	512	501	528

Taking away the straight ticket votes, the Dems would've made this a much closer race. Had that been the case, the Democrats Tiernan and Carty would've actually taken the top two positions in the balloting, with Wingerter and Adsett taking the other two seats.

TIERNAN	CARTY	SAMUEL	LICZWEK	CARPENTER	WINGERTER	PINLEY	ADSETT
4768	4580	4228	4110	4392	4503	4333	4473

As was the case with the county-wide row offices, it was yet another case of "close but no cigar" for the Chester County Democrat Party.

COATESVILLE HOMICIDE VICTIM HAD RECORD

2009-11-06T18:54:00.003-05:00

COATESVILLE - The man shot and killed in Coatesville last night wasn't exactly a stranger to police, as he had two open cases in District Court and was on parole for a 2007 assault in West Chester.

Pierce Elliot Rivera, 22, of Coatesville, was shot in the head at around 16:30 Thursday afternoon on the 100 block of Penrose Alley near Walnut Street. He was flown to Reading Hosptial where he was pronounced dead a few hours later.

Rivera was on parole for a January 19, 2007 assault that occured on the 500 block of West Market Street in which he and his girlfriend assaulted a 17 year old male with a bottle. Rivera was initially sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months at CCP for that offense (CP-15-CR-0000734-2007).

Rivera's assault occured three days after he was paroled from CCP after pleading gulty to a misdemeanor count of Defiant Trespassing after an incident in Coatesville on July 9, 2006; Rivera had served 3 1/2 months at CCP on that case (CP-15-CR-0003105-2006).

Rivera also had been previously arrested and convicted on a criminal charge in Nassau County, N.Y., however information regarding that case is not readily available.

Rivera also had run-ins with Coatesville Police last year.

Rivera was arrested on October 21, 2008 and charged with PWID. Bail in that case was set at 10 percent of $2,500, which he posted after his arraignment the following morning (15-1-03, CR-0000287-09).

Five days later, Rivera was again arrested by Coatesville Police. He was charged with Burglary, Criminal Trespassing, REAP, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Disorderly Conduct, and two traffic offenses. He was then committed to CCP after failing to post $5,000 cash bail (15-1-03, CR-0000291-09).

Charges in both of the Coatesville cases were dismissed by Coatesville District Judge Robert Davis on November 5, 2008 due to an apparent "lack of prosecution" (ie. the officers and/or witnesses apparently failed to appear).

Rivera was also facing two separate criminal cases at the District Court level.

On August 17, State Police at Embreeville filed charges of Accidents Involving Death or Personal Injury, Accidents Involving Damage to Attended Vehicle or Property, and three other traffic offenses after an alleged hit-and-run accident in West Bradford. The case had gone to warrant, but it did not appear as though it was executed (15-2-06, CR-0000417-09).

Three days later, Ofc. Steve Parkinson of the Caln Police filed DUI charges against Rivera in Thorndale District Court. Rivera was scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on September 28, however, Rivera reportedly failed to appear for court (15-4-02, CR-0000224-09).

Police are still searching for suspects in the homicide, which is the third reported homicide in the county in 2009 and the first in the city since the double homicide late last year. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Coatesville Police at (610) 384-2300.

2009 MUNICIPAL ELECTION - FINAL RESULTS

2009-11-04T00:57:00.002-05:00

With all precincts reporting, Unplugged can safely call a few more races in the 2009 Municipal Election.

Out of 327,936 registered voters in the county, only 72,914 (22.2 percent) voters cast ballots today.

The Republicans have again swept the county row offices, to the surprise of very few (except maybe a few delusional moonbat liberals, who are undoubtedly also mourning the loss of the New Jersey gubernatorial race, in which the Republican former federal prosecutor Chris Christie defeated the Democrat incumbent Jon Corzine in the smartest thing the state of New Jersey has done in the past who knows how many years) – particularly when 18,276 Republican straight party tickets were cast, compared to 9,676 Democrat straight party tickets.

In the Treasurer's race, the former West Chester Borough Councilwoman Ann Duke defeated Democrat Barbara "Kipp" Stone by a vote of 41,854 to 26,004; the incumbent Comptroller Val DiGiorgio defeated Democrat Jim Reilly 41,738 to 27,635 to retain his seat, although there is some speculation that DiGirogio will seek the 6^th Congressional seat currently being held by GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Gerlach. Frank McElwaine defeated Democrat Mike McGann 42,438 to 26,429 in the race for Clerk of Courts, while Steven Dickter defeated Megan Lynott 42,180 to 26,968 in the race to replace retiring Coroner Robert Satriale.

In the Lionville District Court race, Republican candidate Lori Donatelli leads fellow Republican Gloria Satriale, who is running on the Democrat ticket after winning that primary election, by a nearly 3-to-1 margin. With all 13 precincts reporting, Donatelli – the wife of Upper Uwchlan supervisor Guy Donatelli – handily defeated Mrs. Satriale – the wife of the aforementioned retiring Coroner – by a 2,886 to 859 tally. The Lionville court includes Uwchlan, Upper Uwchlan, and West Pikeland, and is currently presided over by Stanley Scott, who will be retiring after nearly a quarter of a century on the bench dating back to when 15-2-07 also included West Whiteland and East Whiteland (before they were annexed into District Court 15-4-03 in 1993).

In the Avondale District Court race, controversial constable Matthew Seavey appears to have won the race to replace Thomas Martin, who retired late last year, defeating Democrat Clay Cauley 2,226 to 1,370, with all precincts reporting.

Other District Judges running for election ran unopposed, including Devon's Thomas Tartaglio, Valley's Grover Koon, Coatesville's Gregory Hines, Thorndale's Jeffrey Valocchi, and 15-1-04's resident leniency expert, Gwenn S. Knapp…

Meanwhile, President Judge Paula Francisco Ott now appears to be on her way to becoming one of four new members of the Superior Court. Judge Ott, a West Chester resident whose husband Ray is a former West Chester Borough Councilman, is currently third among nine candidates to fill four vacancies on the court. Two other Republicans, Judy Olson and Sallie Mundy lead the voting, with Judge Ott currently in 3^rd nearly 97 percent of all votes state-wide having been counted. The fourth seat appears to have been narrowed down to two Democrats – Anne Lazarus and Robert Colville. The margin between the 4^th place candidate Colville and the 5^th place candidate Lazarus is approximately 3,500 votes; the margin when the report percentage was at 92 percent was slightly over 1,000 votes, so it would appear that Lazarus will be the fourth place finisher and win a seat on the Superior Court (click here for a county-by-county breakdown of the Superior Court election results).

It appears that not only will Chester County be seeking a new President Judge, but there will, at least for now, be one vacancy in the 2011 election for the Common Pleas Court. There's talk of at least one other Common Pleas Judge who is up for retention in 2011 who may choose not to seek a second 10-year term, though, it's probably too early to tell whether or not that will come to fruition.

The Superior Court race is not the only race where Republicans in Pennsylvania are feeling very confident. Superior Court Judge Joan Melvin Orie is leading Democrat Jack Panella 53 percent to 47 percent in the race to fill one vacancy on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court; Republicans Patricia McCullough (802,671) and Kevin Brobson (743,774) lead Democrats Linda Judson (665,299) and Barbara Berhend Ernsberger (657,159) in the race for two vacancies on the Commonwealth Court…

In the West Chester Area School District, Republicans swept the four open seats in what turned out to be one of the more contentious battles in the county. Republicans Heidi Adsett (7,961), John Wingerter (7,948), Sean Carpenter (7,847), and Maria Armandi Pimley (7,814) defeated the Democrat slate of Susan Tiernan (6,522), Susan Carty (6,329), Lisa Samuel (6,007), and Deborah Liczwek (5,902); the Republicans also swept the Dems in Thornbury, Delaware County.

West Chester borough races proved anti-climactic, as Dems ran unopposed in all four races and in the mayor's race. Holly Brown (1^st Ward), Chuck Christie (3^rd Ward) and John Manion (7^th Ward) ran unopposed, while Thomas Paxton beat back a write-in campaign to replace Carolyn Comitta in the 5^th Ward. Comitta was elected Mayor of West Chester after winning both the Democrat and Republican primaries in May.

In other mayoral races of interest, the former police officer and Republican Matt Fetick defeated Democrat Leslie Whiteside 400-214 in the race to replace Leon Spencer as mayor of Kennett Square. In Phoenixville, the Democrat incumbent Leo Scoda defeated Republican challenger Louis Amici 1,331 to 836. Democrats also won contested mayoral elections in Downingtown (Josh Maxwell defeated Nick Winkler 659-611) and South Coatesville (long time mayor James Kennedy defeated William Jones 85-59).

In the county's other boroughs, these candidates ran unopposed: Wesley Vincent (Atlgen), Doris Howell (Avondale), Arleigh Hegarty (Elverson), Maria Downey (Honey Brook), Gerald McGlone (Malvern), Ronald McCorkle (Modena), Geoffrey Henry (Oxford), John Hagan (Parkesburg), Michael Weiss (Spring City), and Stephen Black (West Grove)…

In the Coatesville City Council races, Democrat Karl Marking defeated the Republican Eric Lacerte 155-51 for the 4^th Ward (East Side/South) Council seat. Democrats also swept the two at-large Council seats, as Jarrell Brazzle (578) and Joseph Hamrick (483) defeated Republicans Joseph DiSciullo (321) and Fran Schnering (225). Democrat Ingrid Jones ran unopposed for the 2^nd Ward (South Side) seat.

In another interesting race in Coatesville, the former City Council President Kareem Johnson captured the 3^rd Ward Constable race (North Side); the seat had been previously held by the late GOP turned Democrat power broker Richard Legree. The 5^th Ward (East Side/North) race ended in a tie between the Democrat Ronald Suber and the Republican Ricky Campbell. Both candidates received 84 votes, so undoubtedly, there will be a recount…

And, finally, an Assistant District Attorney can now add another title to his resume – Downingtown Area School District Board Member.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Ost-Prisco ran unopposed for the DASD Region 8 seat, which covers Downingtown Borough – West Ward/South Precinct, and West Bradford Precincts 2 and 4. Ost-Prisco is the lead prosecutor in the Coatesville arson cases that are pending in Common Pleas Court.

As time permits, I hope to have a more detailed breakdown of the key election results – or at least the WCASD race and perhaps a couple of others, though most of the contested races seem self-explanatory as far as a breakdown is concerned.

2009 MUNICIPAL ELECTION UPDATE #5

2009-11-03T23:02:00.001-05:00

Focusing on the other races that Unplugged is tracking (or attempting to):

The Republican ticket running for the West Chester Area School Board appears to have gained traction. With nearly half of the precincts reporting, here are the current results:

Wingerter (R) 5,130
Adsett (R) 5,124
Armandi Pimley (R) 5,035
Carpenter (R) 5,003
Tiernan (D) 4,024
Carty (D) 3,900
Samuel (D) 3,726
Liczwek (D) 3,643

The following precincts in the WCASD have reported results: East Bradford – North 2; East Goshen – 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9; West Goshen – North 1-4, Middle 2, South 1-4; Westtown 2, 3, 4; West Whiteland 1-5, and 7; and West Chester 2 East, 2 West, 3, and 7. There are 14 precincts remaining to report, and, barring some incredible shockers in the "suburban precincts" (read: townships), it looks as though the Republicans will hold on to control of the school board.

In the race for Lionville District Judge, it appears that Upper Uwchlan attorney Lori Nowak Donatelli will win the election to fill the seat vacated by District Judge Stanley Scott. With 9 out of 13 precincts (and, I might add, without the benefit of exit polling services), Unplugged is now prepared to call Donatelli the winner in the race, as she leads her Democrat challenger Gloria Satriale 1,628-to-524. The remaining precincts that have yet to report are Uwchlan 8, Upper Uwchlan 1, Upper Uwchlan 2, Upper Uwchlan 4, and West Pikeland.

Meanwhile, in the southern part of the county, controversial West Grove constable Matthew Seavey (R) is currently leading his Democrat challenger Clay Cauley 355-263 in the race for Avondale District Judge. Avondale, West Marlborough, New Garden South 2 are the only precincts to have reported. It's too early to make a projection in this race, however Avondale – which has trended Democrat in recent elections – supported Seavey 53-43. West Grove, Franklin, London Britain, and London Grove have yet to post results, though it looks as though Seavey, who was suspended earlier this year from his duties as a constable for allegedly failing to appear for a mandatory training session, has the early advantage and whose election may give more than a few active judges in the county indigestion.

Also, throughout the night, Unplugged will provide some updates on mayoral races of interest, particularly the ones in Phoenixville and Kennett Square, along with the Coatesville City Council races and a couple of other noteworthy races that have fallen under the radar.

There will not, however, be any updates on the West Chester borough races, simply because virtually all of the candidates ran unopposed.

2009 MUNICIPAL ELECTION UPDATE #4

2009-11-03T22:40:00.001-05:00

We now have 58 precincts reporting as of a few minutes ago.

For starters, here's an update on the county row offices, which will appear to stay in the Republican camp if the results hold up:

Treasurer: Ann Duke (Rep.) 8,967; Kipp Stone (Dem.) 5,646

Comptroller: Val DiGiorgio (Rep.) 8,969; Jim Reilly (Dem.) 5,940

Clerk of Courts: Frank McElwaine (Rep.) 9,164; Mike McGann (Dem.) 5,666

Coroner: Steven Dickter (Rep.) 9,188; Megan Lynott (Dem.) 5,665

Meanwhile, President Judge Paula Francisco Ott is now among the top four candidates in her bid to become one of four Superior Court judges.

The current Superior Court results with 75 percent of precincts reporting:

Judy Olson (Rep) – 582,726/14.6 percent
Sallie Mundy (Rep) – 529,652/13.3 percent
Paula Francisco Ott (Rep) – 485,913/12.2 percent
Anne Lazarus (Dem) – 478,745/12.0 percent
Robert Colville (Dem) – 475,560/11.9 percent
Kevin McCarthy (Dem) – 466,638/11.7 percent
Teresa Sarmina (Dem) – 456,666/11.4 percent
Temp Smith (Rep) – 435,027/10.0 percent

Judge Ott has now leaped into third place, thanks in no small part to her leading the candidates in the Chester County polling. Judge Ott has currently 16.9 percent of all votes cast in Chester County.

The updated results are coming in a lot more quickly than I was expecting; hopefully, when I get a chance to analyze the numbers, more updates will follow.

2009 MUNICIPAL ELECTION UPDATE #3

2009-11-03T22:20:00.001-05:00

Here is a more detailed vote count for the Chester County row offices:

Treasurer: Ann Duke (Rep.) 2,950; Kipp Stone (Dem.) 1,819

Comptroller: Val DiGiorgio (Rep.) 2,952; Jim Reilly (Dem.) 1,891

Clerk of Courts: Frank McElwaine (Rep.) 3,014; Mike McGann (Dem.) 1,815

Coroner: Steven Dickter (Rep.) 3,058; Megan Lynott (Dem.) 1,782

Again, only 20 out of 226 precincts have reported – none of them in West Chester Borough (which is traditionally one of the last areas to report results).

Meanwhile, President Judge Paula Francisco Ott is climbing up in the standings in her bid to become one of four Superior Court judges.

The current Superior Court results with 57 percent of precincts reporting:

Judy Olson (Rep) – 455,763/14.4 percent
Sallie Mundy (Rep) – 412,711/13.0 percent
Anne Lazarus (Dem) – 388,708/12.3 percent
Robert Colville (Dem) – 385,591/12.2 percent
Kevin McCarthy (Dem) – 378,423/11.9 percent
Paula Francisco Ott (Rep) – 376,685/11.9 percent
Teresa Sarmina (Dem) – 371,131/11.7 percent
Temp Smith (Rep) – 335,664/10.6 percent

Judge Ott's gap between her current position and the 4^th place Colville has narrowed to less than 10,000 votes, with only a handful of precincts reporting in Chester County. Another update will follow shortly as more precincts have now reported, including 3 of 8 in West Chester.

2009 MUNICIPAL ELECTION UPDATE #2

2009-11-03T22:00:00.001-05:00

The first wave of precincts have been counted in Chester County – 20 out of 226 – with Republicans taking a firm hold on the county row offices.

In an encouraging sign, President Judge Paula Francisco Ott is drawing nearly 17 percent of votes cast in her Superior Court race, the most among the nine candidates. A state-wide update will follow soon.

At the county level, the Republican ticket of Ann Duke for Treasurer, Val DiGiorgio for Comptroller, Frank McElwaine for Clerk of Courts, and Steven Dickter for Coroner all lead their opponents – Kipp Stone, Jim Reilly, Mike McGann, and Megan Lynott – by nearly two-to-one margins.

In the West Chester school board race, the Republican ticket is currently leading the Democrat ticket – precincts that have reported so far include East Goshen 2 and 9, West Goshen North 1, North 2, Middle 2, South 1 and South 4, Westtown 3, and West Whiteland 3. None of the borough precincts have reported so far.

Republicans John Wingerter (1,331 votes), Heidi Adsett (1,300), Sean Carpenter (1,290), and Maria Armandi Pimley (1,281) currently lead Democrats Susan Tiernan (1,134), Susan Carty (1,107), Lisa Samuel (1,053) and Deborah Liczwek (1,027) in the school board race that has seemingly drawn the most attention.

Another race that Unplugged is following is the battle for the District Court 15-2-07 seat vacated by retiring District Judge Stanley Scott. Lori Novak Donatelli, the wife of an Upper Uwchlan supervisor who is running on the GOP side, currently leads her Democrat Gloria Satriale, the wife of the outgoing Chester County Coroner, by a margin of 188-45; the only precinct that has reported in this race is Uwchlan 1.

Satriale, like Donatelli, is a registered Republican – both candidates cross-filed in the primary election, with Donatelli winning the Republican primary and Satriale winning the Democrat primary. Both candidates are practicing attorneys.

The district also includes Upper Uwchlan and West Pikeland.

More detailed analysis and results to follow – if my internet connection decides to cooperate, and so far that hasn't been the case…

2009 MUNICPAL ELECTION UPDATE #1

2009-11-03T21:33:00.001-05:00

No results have been reported from Chester County as of yet, however, President Judge Paula Francisco Ott is trailing in her bid to win a seat on the Superior Court, with roughly 22 percent of precincts across the state reporting. It should also be pointed out that the majority of precincts reporting are in Philadelphia (58 percent of all precincts in the city have reported) and Allegheny County (20 percent of all precincts in the county, which includes Pittsburgh), which have long been Democrat strongholds.

Judge Ott is currently seventh out of nine candidates – four Democrat, four Republican, and one Libertarian – with 10.9 percent of the vote. The four Democrat candidates – Anne Lazarus (13.9 percent), Kevin McCarthy (13.5), Robert Colville (13.4), and Teresa Sarmina (13.2) – currently lead the statewide polling. The leading Republican is Judy Olsen (12.8), followed by Sallie Mundy (11.7), Judge Ott, and Temp Smith (9.0). The Republicans, however are polling well in early returns in Berks County (45 percent of precincts), with Judge Ott placing third, behind Olsen and Mundy.

It's interesting that the state GOP ran ads promoting the candidacy of current Superior Court Judge Joan Melvin Orie with separate ads for both Olsen and Mundy, but no such ads for Judge Ott (at least in the Philadelphia market; that's not to say it was a different situation in the western part of the state).

In any event, when we start getting results from Westtown Road, Unplugged will provide updates on, among other races, the West Chester Area School District school board, District Court races in Lionville and Avondale, and county row-offices.

ELECTION UPDATES TONIGHT

2009-11-03T18:21:00.004-05:00

In case you didn't notice, there's an election today.

The Municipal General Election takes place today, with open Borough Council seats in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th Wards, the Mayor's office, the District Court 15-1-04 seat, and four seats on the West Chester Area School District Board of School Directors on the ballot in West Chester. Other than the school board races, there really isn't much to write home about as far as borough races are concerned.

At the county level, the Clerk of Courts, Treasurer, Comptroller, and Coroner offices are up for grabs. There are also two competitive district court races - Avondale and Lionville - and races for state-wide judicial offices at stake as well. Chester County President Judge Paula Francisco Ott is running for one of the four open seats on the Superior Court - the appellate court that hears all appeals from Common Pleas Court except for cases involving state, county, or municipal agencies, which are heard in Commonwealth Court.

Unplugged will be posting election returns as they become available. Polls remain open until 20:00 tonight.

ODDS AND ENDS - 10/22/09

2009-10-22T16:04:00.003-04:00

WEST CHESTER - The Chester County Commissioners are expected to hear a presenation with respect to the proposed Central Booking process that could take effect next year.

The proposal, which was drafted by a variety of stakeholders, including the Chester County District Attorney's Office, the Chester County Police Chiefs Association, the county's Magesterial District Judges, and Chester County Court Administration, among others, is tentatively set to be formally unveilled at the Commissioner's "Sunshine" (work session) meeting at 10:00 Tuesday in the Commissioner's Meeting Room on the 5th floor of the Historic Chester County Courthouse. This has not been officially confirmed as the agenda for Tuesday's meeting has not been posted at the county's web site.

According to sources familiar with the project, the initial plan would have seven booking locations stations across the county - the Coatesville, Schuylkill, Tredyffrin, West Goshen, and West Whiteland police stations, along with the State Police stations at Avondale and Embreeville. All seven facilities are the only ones in the county which have the CPIN/LiveScan units, which allows for a more complete record of a defendant's criminal history than the traditional prisoner processing, where a prisoner is fingerprinted using ink and the prints are forwarded to the State Police headquarters in Harrisburg.

At the present time, the plan is to have the District Judges preside over the on-call preliminary arraignments from their courtrooms. However, there had been a proposal where the judges would be issued laptops with web cams to allow them to conduct arraignments, in theory, from their homes or other locations outside of the court offices. The one issue that seems to come up is the processing of paperwork if such arraignments are not conducted at the court offices.

Tuesday's presentation to the Commissioners should shed some light on this project and answer some of the remaining unanswered questions that may be out there...

Borough Council approved a contract to a Delaware County firm to design the proposed two-story expansion of the West Chester Police station.

Council awarded the contract to the Media-based Spiezle Architectural Group at last night's meeting. Details of the contract were not readily available as of this writing, however Spiezle is also involved in another major building project within the borough.

Spiezle was recently awarded a contract by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to design the proposed Student Recreation Center on the North Campus of West Chester University.

The rec center, which would be located near the intersection of South New and West Nields Street, has indirectly stirred up controversy, as a parking garage is proposed for a vacant parking lot on the southwest corner of the intersection has stirred up neighborhood opposition...

And, finally, as a follow-up to last night, your humble blogger attempted to get some video footage of last night's celebration in the SouthEast. Unfortunately, the video didn't turn out too well (it's kind of difficult when the flash on your cameraphone isn't that great).

However, there was some salvagable footage from Barnaby's after the last out that I'll be posting on YouTube later this week. In the meantime, here is a very good YouTube video from "dubcukid" that pretty much shows what went down last night. Other than one arrest for unknown reasons, it appears that the crowd, while vocal, was reasonably well behaved.

Of course, that was the case last year when the Phillies won the pennant; we all know what happened when they won the World Series...

RELATIVELY QUIET NIGHT

2009-10-22T03:02:00.005-04:00

WEST CHESTER - Police reported no major incidents among a crowd of nearly 2,000 fans - mostly WCU students - in the off campus neighborhood that was the scene of a riot last year after the Phillies clinched the National League pennant for the second consecutive year.

WCPD - along with multiple police agencies and the State Police - were out in full force throughout the SouthEast and Uptown as Brad Lidge closed out the 9th inning of the 5th game of the National League Championship Series. It was part of a strategy that West Chester Police Chief Scott Bohn described as "taking control of the streets."

Fans celebrate the Phillies 2nd consecutive National League Pennant at Barnaby's (Creighton Rabs photo).

A crowd estimated at nearly 2,000 people at it's peak initially congregated along the 100 block of East Neilds Street near the area of Jake's Bar. Fans then went westbound along Nields, congregating for several minutes at the corner of South Walnut and East Nields.

The crowd dispersed and went to the North Campus Academic Quad on the WCU campus for an impromptu pep rally which saw the crowd vocal but not overly disorderly. The fans then brought the celebration back to Walnut and Nields, however, the crowd wasn't there for too long as officers again dispersed the crowd without incident.

Police did report two arrests, according to Chief Bohn. One incident involved a female who was allegedly intoxicated and under the legal drinking age and attempted to enter an Uptown bar.

The second incident involved a man who allegedly threw a table at a window of the Penn's Table restaurant at the corner of West Gay and North Church Streets. The male subject then fled on foot from officers, going southbound on Church and eastbound onto Market Street before Sgt. Jim Morehead deployed his taser to subdue the suspect. The suspect is seen at right being placed into a patrol car. There was no damage reported to the Penn's Table structure.

For the most part, it appeared to be a good test run for a potential World Series championship celebration, where all involved hope to avoid last year's riots along South Walnut Street in which two cars were turned over and at least one lightpost was knocked down.

A man who ran from police after allegedly throwing a table at an Uptown restaurant that was closed at the time is taken into custody after he had been tased on the 50 block of West Market Street in front of the Historic Chester County Courthouse (Creighton Rabs photo)

ANOTHER PROBLEM AT EAST END CLUB

2009-10-19T04:13:00.001-04:00

WEST CHESTER – An East End man reportedly in the country illegally is in custody tonight after allegedly possessing a weapon during a disturbance at a controversial East End social club over the weekend.

Ofc. Jason O'Neill responded to the Star Social Club at 212 East Market Street at around 23:12 Saturday evening for a report of a disturbance inside the troubled establishment. Reports indicated that a man, identified as Juan Carlos Garcia, 25, of the Union Court Apartments (600 block of East Union Street), West Chester, attempted to start a fight. The reporting party indicated that Garcia had a weapon.

Garcia was arrested by officers upon their arrival; a large fixed-blade knife with a 12 inch blade was allegedly recovered from Garcia in a search incident to arrest.

Garcia, a Mexican national who is alleged to be living in the U.S. illegally, was arraigned by Downingtown District Judge Rita Arnold Sunday morning on charges of Simple Assault, Possession of a Prohibited Offensive Weapon, and Possession of an Instrument of Crime. He was committed to CCP in lieu of $7,500 straight cash bail with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Friday at 15-1-04 (15-1-04, CR-0000337-09).

Saturday night's incident is the latest in a string of incidents that has brought the Star Social Club into controversy, including:

A March 8 shooting in which a man was shot in the ankle and subsequently transported to Crozer-Chester Medical Center. It's not known if any suspects were identified, although it was believed that the suspects fled the scene in an SUV and were heading towards Coatesville.
A September 2008 raid in which three people were arrested on drug charges and the Star cited by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board under allegations of drug and gambling violations; the bar was recently fined $1,000 after the LCB found the Star guilty of Sales to Non-members, Allowing the Sale and/or Use of Drugs on the Premises, and Possession of Gambling Devices after a hearing on September 14 (LCB #2009-0058).
A January 2008 arrest in the parking lot of the Star in which two men – one of whom was on State Parole at the time of the arrest – were charged with drug possession and related charges; due to the District Attorney's office botching a prelim for one of the men and an agreement to the parolee to end the case at District Court, both men subsequently pled only to summary charges.
A July 2007 incident in which two women were charged after a brawl broke out at around closing time.
An April 2007 robbery which was poorly prosecuted, resulting in the two suspects pleading to summary offenses; an officer assist call bringing in West Goshen was requested after a large fight in front of the Star the following night, though there were no reported arrests.
A January 2007 incident where a woman was allegedly assaulted with a baseball bat; the disposition of that case is not known, but it's believed that no arrests were made.
A December 2006 hit-and-run in which three women were struck by an SUV that fled the scene; a suspect in the case was subsequently acquitted of all charges in a case marred by a lack of cooperation from witnesses (and when you consider some of the "members" of this club aren't exactly the most upstanding citizens, that shouldn't come as a shock).

Once again, the Star has proven to be a magnet for trouble and disorder in the East End. Just recall the statements made by the club president Leonard Clossen, Jr. after the September 11, 2008 LCB raid:

Closson said he intends to address the issues in order to keep the business open. To tackle the drug dealing he said he may implement a dress code and overall be more selective with clientele.

"I'm more upset about the drug dealing than anything else," he said. "I'm going to really tighten up and clean up this place. If our license isn't taken away as a result of this I'm going to definitely clean up its act."

That obviously hasn't happened. In fact, Unplugged has heard reports that several county and possibly state parolees patronize the Star on a regular basis, though that hasn't been formally confirmed.

Closson also reached out to local residents.

"I apologize to the community. As president, I'm going to have to be diligent about cleaning up this place," Closson said. – Daily Local News, September 12, 2008

Two words come to mind when reading Clossen's false promise to the East End: EPIC FAIL.

ODDS AND ENDS – 10/13/09

2009-10-13T22:48:00.002-04:00

WEST CHESTER – Police are searching for a subject – or subjects – responsible for a series of graffiti attacks in the West End over the past several days.

Officers report that an unknown subject is spray-painting the word "hater" at several locations throughout the West End over the past several days. The suspect has reportedly struck residences at the 400 block of West Biddle Street, the 400 block of West Gay Street, the 300 block of Dean Street, West Union Street, and at least two other locations.

There has been no description made available of any suspects as of this point.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Ofc. Aaron Davis at (610) 696-2700…

The two women accused of causing a disturbance following a preliminary hearing at Valley District Court last week were ordered held for trial after a preliminary hearing this morning in front of West Chester District Judge Mark Bruno.

Alikah Muhammad Ali, 20, and Shante Chapman, 19, both of Coatesville, were accused of attacking a relative of Aaron Turner – the 16 year old murdered, allegedly by Laquanta Champan and his cousin, Bryan Bryd – during a melee following a preliminary hearing where Valley District Judge Grover Koon ordered Cynthia Chapman Graves held for trial after she allegedly took her son's car to New Jersey in attempt to sell it before investigators could check it for evidence in a homicide of a 16 year old Coatesville boy.

Ali was ordered held for trial on charges of Intimidation of a Witness, Retaliation Against a Witness or Victim, REAP, Terroristic Threats, Endangering the Welfare of Children, Harassment, and Disorderly Conduct; Simple Assault charges against Ali were dismissed, and one count of Retaliation Against a Witness or Victim was withdrawn (15-1-01, CR-0000269-09).

Chapman, the daughter of the woman at the center of last week's hearing in Valley, was ordered held for trial on charges of Simple Assault, Intimidation Against a Witness, Terroristic Threats, Harassment, and Disorderly Conduct; one count of Retaliation Against a Witness was withdrawn (15-1-01, CR-0000270-09).

Both women remain held at Chester County Prison in lieu of $5,000 cash bail…

A 30 year old Coatesville man faces charges after the alleged rape of a child in the city.

Coatesville Police charged Henry E. Lewis, 30, with Rape of a Child, Rape, Aggravated Indecent Assault, Indecent Assault, and Corruption of Minors. Information about the incident is limited owing to the nature of the charges. However, just by reading the on-line docket sheet, Lewis allegedly raped a child under the age of 13 who was reported to have been unconscious at the time of the incident.

Lewis was committed to CCP in lieu of $25,000 cash bail pending a preliminary hearing in front of Senior District Judge Robert Davis, presiding at Coatesville (15-1-03, CR-0000291-09)…

And, finally, opening arguments are expected to start tomorrow in the case against a Delaware County man accused of breaking into a West End residence raping a woman.

Jury selection took place today in the matter of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Foday F. Kanu. Kanu, 25, of the Broomall section of Marple Township, Delaware County, is charged with Rape, Sexual Assault, Indecent Assault, Burglary, Criminal Trespassing, Aggravated Assault, Unlawful Restraint, False Imprisonment, Simple Assault, REAP, and Possession of an Instrument of Crime following an incident on July 22, 2008.

Kanu was initially arrested on July 30, 2008 and was released on unsecured bail after arraignment by the Hon. Gwenn S. Knapp (D – 15-1-04). At his initial preliminary hearing a few days later, Judge Bruno modified bail to $25,000 cash bail. The charges were initially withdrawn on August 19, 2008 (15-1-01, CR-0000184-08).

The charges were re-filed on January 21; Kanu was ordered held for trial on all counts on February 24.

Kanu is currently at CCP in lieu of $100,000 cash bail. He is represented by Reading based attorney Jacob Gurwitz; Assistant District Attorney Deborah Ryan is prosecuting the case on behalf of the Commonwealth (CP-15-CR-0000834-2009).

ACCUSED ROBBER FACES NEW CHARGES

2009-10-13T14:18:00.001-04:00

LEACOCK, Lancaster County – A man accused of a 2002 robbery of a Caln convenience store is once again in trouble with the law, this time after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend in Lancaster County over the weekend.

Tpr. Samuel Laureto of the State Police Ephrata station responded to a residence in the Gordonville section of Leacock Township, Lancaster County early Saturday morning for a report of an assault. The woman told troopers that her boyfriend, Calvin Bartholemew Lynch, 31, of the 200 block of Maple Street, Gordonville, assaulted her and confined her to her bedroom in a nearly eight hour ordeal in what troopers described as an "completely unprovoked" assault.

According to the Lancaster Intelligencer, the victim told troopers that Lynch arrived at her residence at around 00:30 Saturday morning. Lynch allegedly woke the victim "by delivering several blows with a baseball bat. He then proceeded to choke the victim unconscious." Lynch reportedly kept the woman confined to her bedroom by threatening more violence, according to news accounts. Lynch left the residence nearly eight hours later, allegedly taking the couple's cell phone with him. The victim told troopers that Lynch had been smoking crack cocaine throughout the assault.

The victim was transported to Lancaster General Hospital and treated for multiple lacerations, head trauma, and a fractured elbow.

Lynch was apprehended the following day at a relative's home in Salisbury Township, Lancaster County. He was charged with Aggravated Assault, Unlawful Restraint, REAP, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was arraigned by Lancaster West District Judge Bruce Roth and committed to Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $100,000 cash bail; a preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday in front of Intercourse District Judge Issac Stoltzfus (02-3-05, CR-0000232-09).

If the name Calvin Lynch sounds familiar to those in the Chester County court system, there's a pretty good reason why. Lynch is currently facing trial in Chester County on charges relating to a June 5, 2002 robbery of the Turkey Hill store on Bondsville Road, Caln. In that incident, Lynch allegedly robbed the store of approximately $150.00 in U.S. currency that was in a donations jar. Lynch had reportedly been wearing a turban at the time of the Caln robbery; it was a similar method reportedly used in other robberies along the U.S. 30 corridor in Chester and Lancaster Counties.

The case drew attention when Lynch was charged with the robbery nearly five years after it had occurred.

The charges were originally filed in Lancaster County after State Police investigators had charged Lynch with other in Chester and Lancaster Counties in 2002 and 2003. The charges relating to the Caln robbery were subsequently dismissed in Lancaster County and filed in Thorndale District Court on June 20, 2007.

In 2008, Lynch's attorney, Christian Hoey, had sought for a dismissal of charges, arguing that the statute of limitations in the case had expired. The motion was subsequently denied by Common Pleas Judge David Bortner.

Lynch had been scheduled to go to trial on the charges on April 14. A jury had been seated before the case was continued over allegations that the Commonwealth had failed to turn over possible exculpatory evidence in the form of police reports relating to the investigation. The trial is scheduled for November 9 in front of Judge Bortner, however that will depend on the resolution of evidentiary issues that remain outstanding.

Lynch was out on $10,000 cash bail at the time of his arrest over the weekend on the Chester County case (CP-15-CR-0004771-2007).

Additionally, Lynch is currently awaiting trial in Lancaster County on PWID charges stemming from an August 23, 2007 investigation conducted by the State Police in Paradise Township, Lancaster County. Lynch was charged on June 18, 2008 and is scheduled for trial in November, though no formal date had been set as of yet. Lynch had posted $5,000 cash bail the day after he was arrested (CP-36-CR-3368-2007).

It might be fair to say that Lynch has a lot at stake with the current charges in Chester and Lancaster Counties, considering his extensive criminal history:

October 9, 1997: Police in Christiana Borough, Lancaster County, investigate a robbery in which Lynch is identified as a suspect. Lynch is subsequently charged with Robbery, Burglary, Criminal Trespassing, Simple Assault, and Criminal Mischief (CP-15-CR-0004893-1997).
November 1, 1997: Christiana Police charge Lynch with Fleeing/Eluding Police, TBUT, Receiving Stolen Property, and seven traffic offenses after a vehicle pursuit (CP-36-CR-0000496-1998).
November 28, 1997: State Police in Lancaster investigate a reported theft in which Lynch is subsequently charged with TBUT, Criminal Attempt to Theft, and Criminal Conspiracy (CP-15-CR-0001162-1998).
November 29, 1997: Tpr. Joseph Fanning of the State Police Avondale station investigates a report of a stolen vehicle in West Fallowfield in which Lynch is charged on January 18, 2000. Lynch is incarcerated at SCI Huntingdon at the time the complaint is filed (CP-15-CR-0000303-2000).
December 5, 1997: Ofc. James Peters of the West Sadsbury Police investigates a reported theft in which Lynch is subsequently charged with TBUT, Receiving Stolen Property, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, and Criminal Mischief.
December 14, 1997: Christiana Police charge Lynch with Fleeing/Eluding Police, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Receiving Stolen Property and six traffic offenses after a second car chase (CP-36-CR-0001185-1998). Parkesburg Police also charge Lynch with TBUT, Receiving Stolen Property, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, and Criminal Mischief. The Chester County case is subsequently nolle prossed on April 3, 1998, presumably as a result of the similar charges in Lancaster County (CP-15-CR-0004893-1997).
December 17, 1997: State Police at Embreeville charge Lynch with Robbery, TBUT, Possession of Prohibited Offensive Weapon, Receiving Stolen Property, Terroristic Threats, Simple Assault, and Harassment following a robbery of a Turkey Hill store in Honey Brook in which $100.00 in U.S. currency was taken (CP-15-CR-0000212-1998). Troopers also investigate a stolen vehicle in PSP Avondale's territory on that same day (CP-15-CR-0000711-1998).
February 9, 1998: Lynch pleads guilty to Criminal Trespassing and Criminal Mischief in the October incident and to TBUT and Fleeing/Eluding Police relating to the November 1, 1997 car chase. Lancaster County Common Pleas Judge Louis Farina sentences Lynch to one year less one day to two years less one day in Lancaster County Prison plus two years of probation consecutive to parole.
March 30, 1998: Lynch pleads guilty to TBUT and Criminal Conspiracy for his role in the November 28, 1997 theft case and to Fleeing/Eluding Police and is sentenced to what appears to be a jail sentence concurrent with the previous sentence imposed by Judge Farina.
July 8, 1998: Lynch pleads guilty to separate counts of TBUT relating to the December 17, 1997 incidents and to a count of Robbery in the Honey Brook Turkey Hill incident in front of Common Pleas Judge Thomas Gavin. Lynch is sentenced to 6-to-23 months at CCP plus four years of probation consecutive to parole in the theft cases and to a consecutive state prison term of 1-to-2 years for the robbery count.
June 27, 2000: Upon parole from SCI Huntingdon, Lynch is arraigned on the West Fallowfield case and committed to CCP in lieu of $5,000 cash bail.
December 14, 2000: The case from West Fallowfield is withdrawn as Lynch pleads guilty to a summary charge of Criminal Mischief in front of Parkesburg District Judge Robert Gill (15-3-07, CR-0000017-00).
June 5, 2001: Tpr. Maurice Tomlinson of the State Police/Embreeville station is involved in a vehicle pursuit of Lynch in which Lynch strikes a police cruiser and injures a police officer. Lynch is subsequently charged with Aggravated Assault, Simple Assault, REAP, Resisting Arrest, Fleeing/Eluding Police, Harassment, DUI, and several traffic offenses. Lynch is arraigned the following day by Pottstown District Judge James D'Angelo and committed to CCP in lieu of $15,000 cash bail (CP-15-CR-0002916-2001).
January 29, 2002: Judge Gavin reduces Lynch's bail to $1.00 nominal bail, which is posted on February 7, 2002.
May 18, 2002: State Police at Lancaster investigate a reported theft in Paradise Township in which Lynch is subsequently charged with Conspiracy to Burglary, TBUT, and Corruption of Minors. The case is subsequently nolle prossed in 2004 (CP-36-CR-0002749-2003).
May 30, 2002: Judge Gavin orders Lynch's bail forfeited and a bench warrant is issued for Lynch's arrest.
June 5, 2002: Coatesville Police investigate a reported arson in the city in which Lynch is subsequently charged with Arson, Risking a Catastrophe, REAP, Terroristic Threats, Simple Assault, Criminal Mischief and False Identification to Law Enforcement (CP-15-CR-0005067-2003). Lynch is also taken into custody on the bench warrant issued by Judge Gavin.
July 9, 2002: Lynch pleads guilty to Aggravated Assault, Receiving Stolen Property, and DUI in front of Judge Gavin and is sentenced to 2 ½ to 5 years in state prison, followed by five years of probation consecutive to parole.
July 21, 2004: Lynch pleads guilty to REAP and Criminal Mischief relating to the Coatesville incident in front of Judge Gavin and is sentenced to 1-to-23 months at CCP plus one year of probation consecutive to parole.
October 14, 2004: Cpl. David Kennedy of the State Police Embreeville station files charges of Robbery, Aggravated Assault, TBUT, and Simple Assault relating to the Turkey Hill robbery in Caln; the case is filed in Judge Stoltzfus' court in Lancaster County. The case is dismissed in Lancaster County on March 14, 2005 over a procedural error, in which the Caln robbery and a robbery in Paradise Township in which a clerk at a Getty Mart on U.S. 30 was stabbed with a screwdriver were filed together; Judge Stoltzfus ruled that the case should have been filed in Chester County instead of Lancaster County (02-3-05, CR-0000194-04).
March 25, 2007: Tpr. Joseph Harper of the State Police Lancaster station charges Lynch with 1543-B, and Habitual Offenders after a traffic stop in Leacock Township. Lynch is released on summons pending a preliminary hearing.
June 20, 2007: Charges in the Caln robbery are re-filed in Thorndale District Court; Lynch is arraigned one week later and subsequently released after posting $10,000 cash bail.
August 23, 2007: State Police investigate Lynch over a suspected drug deal in Paradise Township.
June 18, 2008: Lynch is arraigned on PWID charges in Lancaster and is released the following day after posting $10,000 bail. Trial is pending in Lancaster County Common Pleas Court (CP-36-CR-0003368-2008).
December 29, 2008: Lynch pleads guilty to the Habitual Offenders charge in Lancaster County; Lancaster Common Pleas Judge Joseph Madenspacher places Lynch on one year probation (CP-36-CR-0002863-2007).
August 13, 2009: A hearing over Lynch's motion to dismiss the robbery charges is held in front of Judge Bortner. A ruling is expected on the motion is expected soon.
October 11, 2009: Lynch is arrested by State Police after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend at her home in Leacock; Lancaster West District Judge Bruce Roth commited Lynch to Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $100,000 cash bail.

Between the robbery case in Chester County, the PWID case in Lancaster County, and the new assault case in Lancaster County, it's fair to say that Lynch may be returning to state prison sooner rather than later.

JUST A REFRESHER ON HOW NOT TO VIOLATE YOUR BAIL CONDITIONS

2009-10-12T15:06:00.001-04:00

DOWNINGTOWN – A Coatesville woman awaiting trial on burglary charges now faces two additional cases since she posted bail on a burglary charge two weeks ago, which seems to show that the bail system in Chester County doesn't seem to have any rhyme or reason to it.

Ofc. Gerald Cavanaugh of the Downingtown Police charged one Kara Ann Forsyth, 31, with Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Criminal Trespassing, Simple Assault, Harassment, and Disorderly Conduct after an incident in Downingtown on October 1. She was subsequently arraigned that day and committed to CCP in lieu of $7,500 cash bail, which was posted the following day. Her preliminary hearing had been scheduled for last Monday in front of Downingtown District Judge Rita Arnold, however, the case was continued to November 2 (15-2-06, CR-0000504-09).

That hasn't stopped Forsyth from drawing two more charges in different courts since her release from CCP.

Ofc. Stacy Harper of the East Fallowfield Police charged Forsyth with Unsworn Falsification to Authorities and False Reports to Law Enforcement on a complaint filed in Parkesburg District Court on Wednesday. Forsyth was arraigned the following day by Parkesburg District Judge Nancy Gill and released after posting 10 percent of $7,500 bail with a preliminary hearing scheduled for this Thursday (15-3-07, CR-0000249-09).

Ofc. Laura Moody of the Caln Police filed misdemeanor Harassment charges against Forsyth on the same day she was arraigned in Parkesburg. Forsyth was issued a summons to appear for a November 16 preliminary hearing in Thorndale District Court (15-4-02, CR-0000263-09).

Perhaps Unplugged missed something, but isn't one of the conditions of bail supposed to be "no criminal conduct" while out on bail awaiting trial?

Three criminal cases filed in an eight day period – even by West Chester standards, that's insane…

EX-CON ROBS DRUG STORE – UPDATED

2009-10-12T02:23:00.001-04:00

WEST GOSHEN – A career criminal recently released from prison on a prior robbery charge is in custody after a point of gun robbery and attempted carjacking at a township drug store.

West Goshen Police responded to the Rite Aid in the West Goshen Shopping Center on Paoli Pike at 18:49 Friday evening for a report of a robbery. The suspect, Gary Glasco, 64, allegedly entered the store and pointed a gun at an employee, announcing "this is a robbery." Glasco reportedly took $303.00 in U.S. currency from the store before fleeing the store.

Glasco then fled the store and reportedly attempted to carjack a woman who was parked in front of the nearby Acme supermarket. The victim told police that Glasco had pointed a gun at her and that hse had attempted to flee in her vehicle. Glasco eventually fled on foot towards the entrance of the shopping center at Paoli Pike before police arrived to take him into custody. The store employee and carjacking victim positively identified Glasco as the perp.

Glasco reportedly gave a statement to police where he admitted to both the robbery and the attempted carjacking. He also stated that he was "recently released from prison for robbery and is currently a fugitive." A look at online records do show prior convictions for robbery in Montgomery County and other offenses in Philadelphia, though these offenses date back to the 1970's and 1980's – on-line records are not entirely clear as to the disposition. Glasco has been booked into jail in the past under different names, which makes an accurate on-line search of Pennsylvania records difficult.

Glasco was arraigned by Pottstown District Judge James D'Angelo on charges of Robbery, Robbery of a Motor Vehicle, Possession of a Firearm Prohibited, Carrying a Firearm Without a License, Possession of a Prohibited Offensive Weapon, Terroristic Threats, Receiving Stolen Property, Simple Assault, and REAP. Glasco was committed to CCP in lieu of $150,000 cash bail; a preliminary hearing is tentatively set for Thursday in front of West Goshen District Judge William Kraut (15-2-03, CR-0000248-09).

IS ANYONE IN MONTCO PAYING ATTENTION?

2009-10-09T02:59:00.001-04:00

WEST CHESTER – It should come as no shock to Unplugged readers that a Coatesville woman finds herself on the wrong side of the law again. The only difference between this latest scrape with the law and her previous three criminal court matters is that she might actually face some punishment in Common Pleas Court this time around. In fact, she was admitted into ARD in Montgomery County while she was facing charges in two separate cases in Coatesville.

Ali, 20, of Coatesville, and Shante Chapman, 19, also of Coatesville, were arrested by Valley Police on Monday after her involvement in a melee at Valley District Court on Monday following a preliminary hearing for a family member who was ordered held for trial on charges relating to the homicide investigation of a 16 year old Coatesville boy. The two are accused of assaulting and threatening the mother of Aaron Turner, the young Coatesville boy who was murdered as he left his home on North Chester Avenue in October 2008.

Valley District Judge Grover Koon had just ordered Cynthia Chapman Graves, 50, of Coatesville, held for trial on charges of Hindering Apprehension, Tampering With Evidence, and Criminal Conspiracy for allegedly driving a car reportedly used by her son, Laquanta Chapman, and his cousin Bryan Byrd, 19, of Newark, N.J. in the murder of Aaron. Chester County Detectives allege that Chapman Graves drove the vehicle to Irvington, Essex County, N.J. – a township bordering Newark to the west – where she attempted to sell it. Investigators had attempted to obtain a search warrant to obtain evidence in the homicide.

After the hearing, Ali and Chapman – the daughter of Chapman Graves – allegedly assaulted a relative of Aaron's outside the courtroom. Ali was reportedly holding a baby as she assaulted the victim; Chapman subsequently had to be restrained by police as she attempted to punch the victim.

News reports indicate that this was not the first confrontation involving Ali and the victim's family. The first incident reportedly occurred outside the Justice Center in West Chester, however, it did not appear as though charges were filed in that incident.

Ali is currently on ARD probation in Montgomery County, although her admittance into the program could be considered unusual at best, if not controversial.

Ali was arrested by Trp. Jason Hope of the State Police/Philadelphia station on June 7, 2007 on charges of False Identification to Law Enforcement and False Swearing/Misleading a Public Servant after an incident in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County. Ali failed to appear for her preliminary hearing in Narberth District Court on August 27, 2007 and the charges were held in absentia.

Meanwhile, Ali found herself in some hot water in Coatesville as Ofc. Jeffrey Ingemie had charged her with Burglary, Criminal Trespassing, Criminal Mischief, Disorderly Conduct, and Harassment following a December 29, 2007 incident in the city's West End. Ali was subsequently arraigned on the charges by Judge Koon on January 16, 2008 and released on $5,000 unsecured bail.

As that case was pending, Ali was again arrested by Ofc. Ingemie on February 6, 2008 and charged with Simple Assault, Harassment, Disorderly Conduct, and Criminal Conspiracy. She was arraigned by Coatesville District Judge Robert Davis on February 18, 2008 and released after posting 10 percent of $2,500 bail.

The day after the second incident, according to on-line court records, Ali's pre-trial conference in the Lower Merion incident was continued by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge William Carpenter after the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office unfathomably agreed to reconsider Ali for that county's ARD program. I wish I were making that up, but, unfortunately, that's not the case.

Despite the fact that there were two open criminal cases in Chester County, Ali's application for ARD was accepted by the DA's office on March 10, 2008; she was formally admitted into the program during a hearing in front of Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Harold Thomson on April 29, 2008.

Ali's Simple Assault charges were withdrawn in Judge Davis' court on March 19, 2008 after she agreed to plead guilty to summary charges of Harassment and Simple Assault (15-1-03, CR-0000041-08). The Burglary case in front of Judge Koon was dismissed on March 31, 2008 (15-1-05, CR-0000004-08).

Even with those two cases subsequently disposed of, they were still active when the Montgomery County DA's office allowed Ali into the ARD program. Had the Lower Merion case occurred in Chester County and Ali had attempted to apply for ARD, the application would likely have been rejected. In fact, if a defendant is approved for ARD by First Assistant District Attorney Pat Carmody (the First Assistant DA in most counties reviews ARD applications) and draws new criminal charges before appearing in Common Pleas Court for formal admission into the program, that defendant's ARD application is revoked and the case proceeds as it normally would.

Even more outrageous is that Ali failed to appear for her preliminary hearing where the charges were ordered held for court, and she was still considered for ARD by Montgomery County officals. In Chester County, the only way an ARD application is considered is if a defendant (1) appears in court and (2) waives the preliminary hearing.

The bar must be set pretty low up in Norristown in order for a defendant to qualify for a program that should be reserved for first-time offenders.

In any event, Ali and Chapman (15-1-01, CR-0000269-09) were arraigned on Monday night by Lionville District Judge Stanley Scott. Ali and Chapman were charged with Witness Intimidation, Retaliation Against a Witness, Simple Assault, Disorderly Conduct, and Harassment; Ali was also charged with REAP, because she allegedly was holding a baby during her role in the assault (15-1-01, CR-0000270-09).

Both women were committed to CCP after failing to post $5,000 cash bail. Preliminary hearings are tentatively scheduled for Tuesday in front of West Chester District Judge Mark Bruno at the Chester County Justice Center.

TROOPERS LOOK FOR MAN ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING TEEN GIRL

2009-10-07T23:46:00.002-04:00

EAST NOTTINGHAM – Pennsylvania State Police at Avondale are searching for a man wanted in connection for sexually assaulting a teenage girl late last month.

According to Fox 29, troopers from the Avondale station responded to the area of Little Elk Creek Road and Old Creek Road at around 20:30 on September 27 when a Good Samaritan riding his bicycle in the area spotted the man in the above sketch assaulting a 14 year old girl.

The man, whose name will not be released by Unplugged (it is Unplugged's general policy not to identify victims or witnesses; he is identified in the press report) told Fox 29,

"I heard a girl yelling on the side of the road. She 'needed help' and 'don't hurt me' and stuff and I walked closer because it was real dark and I seen this guy having her by the neck and she broke free from him and ran over to me. I hate people like that, really. I hope they get him, because I never expected anything like that to happen out here really. He just came out of nowhere."

The victim told troopers that she saw the suspect ahead of her with a shepherd mix dog. She stopped at a bridge over the West Branch of the Big Elk Creek when the suspect turned around and started walking towards her. When the victim turned around, it was that point when the suspect followed her, grabbed her from behind, and took her to a grassy area off the roadway where he allegedly sexually assaulted her. When the witness rode by, the suspect fled on foot in an unknown direction.

Troopers describe the doer as a white male in his 50's or 60's, approximately 170 pounds with light colored/gray hair and a full light colored beard. Anyone with information about the suspect or who may know of similar offenses that this lowlife has committed is asked to contact the PSP Avondale station at (610) 268-2022 or the PSP Avondale tip line at 1-866-279-1504. ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED CAN BE ANONYMOUSLY.

PHOTO FROM WTXF-TV/FOX 29 - Philadelphia

ODDS AND ENDS – 10/07/09

2009-10-07T15:57:00.001-04:00

As one would expect, this weekend's Homecoming at WCU turned out to be quite busy for WCPD.

According to court filings, 71 citations were filed against 49 defendants on charges relating to Homecoming weekend as of last night. Of the 49 defendants charged, 16 face multiple summary charges (11 received two citations, 4 received three citations, and one defendant was hit with four citations); the remaining 33 were only cited for one offense.

All but nine of the charges were filed in the East End, with the remainder in the West End, which should not come as a shock to anyone who has lived in the South East over the past 10 or so years.

Of the 71 citations, the most common one was for Public Drunkenness (19), followed by violation of the borough's open container ordinance (17), Underage Drinking (14), and violation of the borough noise ordinance (13). That's in addition to five citations for Disorderly Conduct, and one citation each for False Identification by Minor, Harassment, and Littering.

The average age of those cited this weekend was 21, with 11 of those cited giving West Chester addresses. The most common out-of-town residence of those cited was Drexel Hill, Delaware County – which boasted five of the 49 defendants (I'm sure that's something that Upper Darby Township will be proud of).

This is probably under-reported, as WCPD and EMS crews were kept busy Saturday night into Sunday morning. Even with assistance from State Troopers and LCB agents, one can't help but wonder if the number of arrests made were only a tiny percentage of those who could've been at risk of being cited for quality of life crimes.

Not too shabby for a department that seems to be shorthanded more often than not … though it's not as though certain members of our esteemed Borough Council would care…

Meanwhile, a Coatesville woman faces assault charges after allegedly fighting with Coatesville Police last month … while awaiting a preliminary hearing on an auto related charge in Parkesburg District Court.

Coatesville Police conducted a pedestrian stop of one Michelle L. Devine, 31, of Coatesville, near the intersection of North Chester Avenue and Merchant Street in the city's East End – a area known for its high drug and prostitution traffic – at 01:34 on September 25. It was determined that Devine had an active warrant out of Thorndale District Court after failing to maintain a payment plan following a guilty plea to a 2008 traffic case in Caln.

The underlying warrant stemmed from a Febuary 12, 2008 traffic stop by Ofc. Nathan Miller of the Caln Police in which Devine was cited for Driving without a License (15-4-02, TR-0000737-09) and Driving an Uninsured Vehicle (15-4-02, TR-0000738-09). On-line records indicated that Devine had failed to pay $375.00 in fines and costs on the insurance citation.

When officers attempted to arrest her, Devine allegedly pulled away from one officer and struck a second officer in the chest. She was subsequently taken into custody after a brief struggle. In a search incident to arrest, officer recovered a straight metal object suspected to be a crack pipe. The object was taken to Lima Labs for analysis.

Devine is currently awaiting a preliminary hearing on charges of Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle after Ofc. Courtenay Delaney of the West Sadsbury Police charged her with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle following a traffic stop on August 26. Devine was released on summons pending an October 15 prelim in front of Parkesburg District Judge Nancy Gill (15-3-07, CR-0000203-09).

This is not Devine's first run-in with police:

On April 3, 1997, Devine was arrested by Parkesburg Police and charged with Aggravated Assault, Simple Assault, Terroristic Threats, REAP, Harassment, and Disorderly Conduct. She pled guilty to two counts of Simple Assault in front of Common Pleas Judge Lawrence Wood on April 23, 1998 and was sentenced to 11-to-23 months at CCP plus two years of probation consecutive to parole (CP-15-CR-0001650-1998).
West Chester police charged Devine with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Disorderly Conduct on May 3, 2003. She pleads guilty to the Possession of Drug Paraphernalia on June 5, 2003 in front of Common Pleas Judge James P. MacElree II and is placed on one year of probation; the probation is consecutive to a parole violation from the assault case to which she is sentenced to 39 days to 12 months plus one year of probation (CP-15-CR-0002684-2003).
Ofc. Chris Craig charges Devine with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia after an August 10, 2005 arrest. She pleads guilty to Possession of a Controlled Substance on January 10, 2006 in front of Common Pleas Judge Howard F. Riley, Jr. and is placed on two years of probation, which appears to be consecutive to the probation that is revoked and reinstated in the 2003 case. Her probation is revoked and reinstated after a Gagnon II hearing on January 14, 2008 (CP-15-CR-0005264-2005).

On the new case, Devine was charged with Aggravated Assault, Simple Assault, Resisting Arrest, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Disorderly Conduct. She was committed to CCP in lieu of 10 percent of $5,000 bail with a preliminary hearing scheduled for next Wednesday in Coatesville District Court (though it's not clear if it will be Senior District Judge Robert Davis or soon-to-be-sworn in District Judge Gregory Hines presiding) (15-1-03, CR-0000274-09)…

Speaking of which, the swearing-in ceremonies for the two new District Judges are scheduled for Monday and for October 23. It's not clear which of the two new judges – Hines and Thorndale District Judge-designate Jeffrey Valocchi – will be sworn in on Monday and which one on the 23^rd. Unplugged will get an answer to that tomorrow…

ODDS AND ENDS – 10/04/09

2009-10-04T21:11:00.003-04:00

The new owners of the former 15 North Café on North Walnut Street is bringing in a concept that has been used in other parts of the state.

The Hardware Bar, which is picking up where 15 North left off in offering live cover bands and relatively inexpensive drink specials. The management of the bar had been working over the past several weeks to get the place in working order.

The website for its Harrisburg location gives a pretty good indication of what to expect:

"Get hammered, nailed, and screwed all in one place! The best party bands rock the house while the bartenders dance on the bar. Come take a shot in our barber chair or just hang out. Either way you are sure to have a fun time here."

I'm sure that's going to be of some comfort to the neighborhood activists who aren't too thrilled with the plethora of bars to begin with.

The holding company operates 6 bars on a four block stretch of North 2^nd Street in Downtown Harrisburg, including the flagship Hardware Bar, along with two additional Hardware Bar locations – Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, and Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County. The Wilkes-Barre location also houses two additional clubs – the Bourbon Street Saloon and Reflex. The Hardware Bar has been described by a couple people familiar with the Harrisburg area nightlife scene (such as it allegedly is) as similar to the famous New York City bar "Coyote Ugly."

The Hardware Bar lists its grand opening on Friday, however, they were doing a brisk business this weekend (of course, Homecoming had a lot to do with it). The interior of the bar does play up the hardware motif, while the DJ booth over the stage, which had been converted into a smoking lounge during the tail end of 15 North's run, was once again up and running as a DJ booth.

Friday's opening event will be a concert by the alleged 1980's rapper Vanilla Ice (I guess Tone Loc wasn't available).

It looks as though the Hardware Bar will at least be open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights; though once the bar is up and running, that could very well change to full week operations. At present, it appears as though there is no kitchen, so it'll be very interesting to see how they can remain open on a Sunday – which typically requires that a licensee has a restaurant license where they are able to serve food…

It looks as though your humble blogger may have gotten on the bad side of one of West Chester's borough councilmen. This is from the WCJim web site maintained by Borough Councilman Jim Jones (D-6^th Ward):

If digesting prose is your desire, then spend a few minutes at West Chester Unplugged, the web site that intermittently inundates its readers with far more than they every (sic) wanted to know about the County's petty criminals. Created by a guy whose (sic) been in front of judges many times, this site pulls few punches when it comes to criticizing others. Sprinkled with typos, weird grammtical (sic) flourishes and brutally honest descriptions of the author's love life and political views, it offers an ecletic (sic) mix of material that occasionally reveals something worth knowing about West Chester.

A few thoughts: First of all, after criticizing me for "typos", it's ironic that Jones manages to slip in four typos of his own in this rather thinly veiled cheap shot at this site.

As far as "inundating" you – my loyal readers – about the "knuckleheads" I've reported on over the past three years, I don't think "petty criminals" would describe those who have been charged with and convicted of, among other things, assault, theft, robbery, drug dealing, etc. Then again, this is from a councilman who doesn't exactly support WCPD, considering his recent vote against a two-story expansion of the police headquarters, his long-standing opposition to hiring additional police officers, his recent opposition to Mayor Dick Yoder's continuation of the Community Police Partnership, and his interesting take on bail for defendants, even those charged with violent crimes. (It should be pointed out that Jones' bail commentary appeared on his web site about a month before the Hon. Gwenn S. Knapp (D – 15-1-04) wrote her bail op-ed piece in the Daily Local – which featured several of Jones' talking points in his commentary; I don't think that's a coincidence.)

A couple of officers had said that it was very fortunate that Jones didn't defeat Yoder in 2005. Judging by what appears to be his left-wing, anti-police philosophy, the whole borough is probably thinking the same thing. After this past weekend, the extra cell space that would be part of the two-story expansion would certainly help.

(On a related note, Jones apparently no longer posts the weekly crime statistics issued by WCPD as he had done for the past year. The crime stats were based on WCPD's "Operation Vigilance" program, which targets quality of life crimes (ie. public drunkenness, disorderly conduct, open container, etc.) against those between 18 and 24 years old. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this, but that's another rant for another time.)

Speaking of which, WCPD is investigating a report of a robbery that occurred Uptown last weekend.

Ofc. Matthew Simcox responded to the 50 block of Pearl Alley (the alley between the F&M Building and Bicentennial Garage) for a report of an armed robbery that occurred at 02:30 on September 26. The victim reported that a black male, approximately 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighing about 150 pounds, with short black hair, a buttoned up black and white t-shirt, and baggie blue jeans robbed him of unknown proceeds by point of gun. The perp, along with a second black male who was wearing a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and a black baseball cap with a yellow "P" fled the area in opposite directions.

Anyone with further information about this robbery is asked to call Ofc. Simcox at (610) 696-2700…

And then there this (apologies to Fox News Channel's Sheppard Smith – it's a reference to the last segment on FNC's "Studio B" newscast that airs daily at 15:00) – it looks as though Homecoming weekend was the typical rowdy weekend that residents have come to expect over the years. Unofficial reports indicated that approximately 100 citations were issued on Saturday alone, with at least 30 people arrested and taken into custody over the course of the day. Once the citations are filed in the two district courts, Unplugged should be able to get a better feel for how many people were arrested and how many citations were issued.

There was at least one assault reported, which occurred around 01:00 in front of Amore's Pizza, on the 300 block of South High Street. The victim, who had suffered a swollen right eye, was transported to CCH. There's no official word on any suspects or the motive behind the assault (though, intoxication comes to mind).

GFAC was kept pretty busy all night, as there had to have been at least 5 or 6 ambulance calls within an 2-3 hour period within the borough. As soon as one ambulance cleared a call, it seemed another call came in.

Yup, just another Homecoming weekend in West Chester…

WANTED SEX OFFENDER BUSTED FOR DUI

2009-10-04T21:11:00.001-04:00

WEST CHESTER – A homeless man wanted by authorities in Montgomery County for failing to register as a convicted sex offender is a guest of the county at the Wawaset Hilton after being charged with DUI after a traffic stop in the East End.

Cpl. Pam Baumann conducted a traffic stop in the 400 block of East Gay Street at around 11:00 Friday morning as part of "Smooth Operator" – a state-funded program designed to target aggressive driving – after a vehicle allegedly driven by Daniel Sidney Houck, 56, whose last known address was in Norristown, Montgomery County, ran a red light. After failing field sobriety tests, and with open containers of alcohol visible in the vehicle, Cpl. Baumann arrested Houck on suspicion of DUI; a preliminary portable breathalyzer test reportedly came back with a reading of .26.

Houck was also found to have an active arrest warrant from Montgomery County. Norristown Police filed charges of Failure to Comply with Registration of Sex Offenders after Houck allegedly failed to register his address with authorities for over a year. The Pennsylvania State Police Megan's Law website shows Houck's last verification date as November 21, 2007.

Houck was convicted in the state of Delaware on 4^th Degree Rape charges – a Class C Violent Felony in Delaware – in 2001, thus triggering registration requirements for both Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Houck also has prior convictions for Escape, Resisting Arrest, Terroristic Threats, and Disorderly Conduct stemming from separate incidents in Upper Uwchlan (CP-15-CR-0002824-1995) and Uwchlan (CP-15-CR-0002825-1995) in 1995. Houck was placed on five years of probation by Common Pleas Judge Paula Francisco Ott on February 6, 1996.

Houck was arraigned on Friday night by Downingtown District Judge Rita Arnold on charges of DUI, Obedience to Traffic Control Devices, 1543-A, and Possession of an Open Container of Alcohol. He was committed to CCP in lieu of $7,500 cash bail pending a preliminary hearing on Friday at 15-1-04 (15-1-04, CR-0000319-09).

SUSPECTED HOOKER CHARGED

2009-10-02T18:35:00.001-04:00

A West End woman currently on parole for prior car theft convictions faces prostitution charges after allegedly soliciting an undercover officer last month.

Undercover investigators made spotted one Christina Marie Nessinger, 31, of the 300 block of West Chestnut Street, West Chester, in the area of North Wayne and West Chestnut Streets on September 17 at around 20:45. The undercover officer again spotted Nessinger in the area of the "Spaz" lot on the 300 block of West Gay Street a short time later.

Nessinger allegedly approached the officer's unmarked vehicle, asking if the agent wanted "to get into some trouble." She then reportedly solicited sexual favors from the officer in exchange for $40.00. When the officer returned to get some money after 10 minutes, Nessinger had left the area.

She allegedly returned to the Spaz lot approximately one hour after the initial contact. She then reportedly got into the undercover officer's vehicle, where the officer gave her the $40.00 in U.S. currency that they had negotiated. After agreeing to go to the parking lot behind the former Bishop Shanahan High School on North Everhart Street, she was then taken into custody.

Nessinger has prior felony convictions for theft and forgery, along with drug related charges in her past:

May 11, 2005: Ofc. Shawn Conti of the Hazleton City (Luzerne County) Police charges investigates a report of a vehicle theft in which Nessinger is named as a suspect. Charges are filed in Hazleton District Court five days later.

June 13, 2005: Ofc. Bernard Vilcheck of the Hazleton City Police charges Nessinger with TBUT after a separate theft incident.

June 24, 2005: Ofc. Bradley Shenk of the Lancaster City Bureau of Police arrests Nessinger on charges of Receiving Stolen Property after she is reportedly spotted in the vehicle that was stolen from Hazleton (which would make one hell of a commute). Nessinger is arraigned and committed to Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $10,000 cash bail.

July 18, 2005: Nessinger waives her preliminary hearing in front of Lancaster City District Judge Cheryl Hartman; bail is modified to $10,000 unsecured and Nessinger is transferred to Luzerne County custody.

July 20, 2005: Nessinger is arraigned on the Hazleton charges and is committed in lieu of a total of $25,000 cash bail.

July 27, 2005: Nessinger is ordered held for trial on all counts after a preliminary hearing in front of Hazleton District Judge Joseph Zola.

October 20, 2005: Nessinger pleads guilty to one count of a felony count of TBUT relating to the June 2005 theft case (CP-40-CR-0002366-2005) and to one count of Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle relating to the May 2005 incident (CP-40-CR-0002365-2005). Luzerne County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Augello defers sentencing pending a pre-sentence investigation.

November 21, 2005: Judge Augello sentences Nessinger to 3-to-12 months at Luzerne County Correctional Facility, plus one year of probation consecutive to parole.

April 13, 2006: Charges relating to the Lancaster case are nolle prossed by Lancaster County Common Pleas Judge Dennis Reinaker (CP-36-CR-0003276-2005).

November 1, 2006: Tpr. James Grudzinski of the State Police Avondale station responds to the intersection of Baltimore Pike (U.S. 1) and Bayard Road, East Marlborough, at around 14:12 for a report of an accident with injuries. Nessinger is found driving a Cadillac after rear-ending a vehicle that had been stopped at a red light. After failing field sobriety tests, Nessinger is taken into custody on suspicion of DUI charges and transported to Jennersville Regional Hospital. She subsequently admits to smoking crack cocaine prior to driving. While being booked at the Avondale station, Nessinger is found to have had cocaine and a crack pipe upon her person. She is released on summons on DUI, drug and traffic offenses.

November 7, 2006: Nessinger attempts to pass a stolen check at the CVS pharmacy, in the Brookworth Shopping Center, East Bradford worth $87.61 at around 08:20. After she was unable to pass said check by attempting to use a stolen ID card from the victim, Nessinger re-enters the store and makes two transactions with a stolen credit card – the first at 08:58 for $432.17, the second just two minutes later at $21.97. A short time later, Nessinger passes a stolen check valued at $255.96 at the now closed Revolution Footwear at 11 West Gay Street, West Chester. Ofcs. David Herkner, Thomas Jones, and Marc Meshurle arrest Nessinger at the now closed Coach House Motel on the 1400 block of Pottstown Pike, West Whiteland, after Ofc. Herkner spotted the victim's stolen vehicle which had been taken from Coatesville. Nessinger is taken into custody at around 21:32 when she exits the hotel room and is spotted entering the vehicle and attempting to retrieve items as officers approached. Ofc. Jones subsequently recovers cocaine and a crack pipe from the room that Nessinger had rented, along with keys to the vehicle that she had stolen, ID cards, checks, and credit cards belonging to the victims. Ofc. Meshurle subsequently uncovers the theft scheme after being alerted by the victims a few days after Nessinger's arrest. It is also revealed that Nessinger has an active warrant out of Luzerne County on a suspected parole violation.

November 8, 2006: Nessinger is arraigned by Exton District Judge Larry Smith and is committed to CCP in lieu of 10 percent of $10,000 on charges of TBUT, Receiving Stolen Property, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Criminal Conspiracy to Possess a Controlled Substance.

November 29, 2006: According to on-line court records, Nessinger maxes out on her parole on the TBUT case and sees her probation in the Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle case revoked and reinstated. The probation term was set to expire on July 20, 2007.

December 12, 2006: Nessinger is ordered held for trial on charges the drug and theft charges stemming from the arrest at the Coach House Motel. She is subsequently arraigned and ordered held for trial on charges of TBUT, Receiving Stolen Property, Forgery, Access Device Fraud, and Unlawful Use of a Computer from the incidents in West Chester and East Bradford; bail is set by Judge Smith at 10 percent of $20,000.

January 23, 2007: Nessinger is ordered held for trial after a preliminary hearing in Kennett District Court on the DUI and drug charges relating to the East Marlborough accident.

June 12, 2007: Nessinger pleads guilty to Access Device Fraud and Forgery stemming from the West Chester and East Bradford incidents (CP-15-CR-0005174-2006), to Receiving Stolen Property and Possession of a Controlled Substance relating to the Coach House arrest (CP-15-CR-0005177-2006), and to DUI-1^st Offense/3^rd Tier and Possession of a Controlled Substance (CP-15-CR-0000315-2007) in front of Common Pleas Judge James P. MacElree II. She is sentenced to an aggregate sentence of 155 days to 23 months (time served) at CCP plus three years of probation consecutive to parole. She is paroled from CCP immediately upon sentencing.

August 3, 2007: Nessinger had been scheduled for a parole violation hearing in Luzerne County, however the disposition of that hearing is not known.

January 8, 2009: Nessinger's parole officer files petition alleging parole violations in the Chester County cases.

May 7, 2009: After failing to appear for a Gagnon I hearing, Judge MacElree issues a bench warrant for Nessinger's arrest.

May 10, 2009: Nessinger is taken into custody on the bench warrant; she had apparently been in Luzerne County custody for an unknown period of time, most likely on a probation or parole violation. At her Gagnon I hearing in Chester County 5 days later, she is released from custody.

June 11, 2009: A bench warrant is issued for Nessinger's arrest after she fails to appear for a Gagnon II hearing in front of Judge MacElree two days earlier.

July 1, 2009: Ofc. Clarence Clark of the Philadelphia Police's 16^th District charges Nessinger with Promoting Prostitution and Solicitation of Prostitution after an incident in West Philadelphia. She is released on her own recognizance after arraignment by a Philadelphia Bail Commissioner. Trial is scheduled for October 28 in Philadelphia Municipal Court (MC-51-CR-0030203-2009). The following day, she is turned over to Chester County custody on the parole detainer.

July 23, 2009: Nessinger is found to have violated her parole by using drugs on November 21, 2008 and failing to comply with other conditions of her parole. Judge MacElree sentences Nessinger to 2-to-12 months in CCP to be followed by one year probation consecutive to parole. This appears to reduce her supervision period from five years to two years, even though the original sentence was imposed two years previously.

September 17, 2009: Nessinger is arrested after allegedly soliciting sexual favors from an undercover agent in exchange for $40.00 U.S. currency.

Nessinger was charged with Promoting Prostitution and released on summons pending a preliminary hearing in front of Judge Bruno on November 10 (15-1-01, CR-0000263-09).

DOES THIS GUY EVER LEARN?

2009-10-01T16:50:00.001-04:00

WEST CHESTER – An East End man faces theft and related charges – his fourth arrest in the past two years before he even turns 21 – after an arrest early Tuesday morning.

Ofc. Aaron Davis responded to the intersection of Bradford Avenue and West Chestnut Street at 01:32 Tuesday morning for a report of a disabled vehicle. Upon arriving, he observed a man, alleged to be Brian Joseph Milbourne, 20, of the 300 block of South Adams Street, West Chester, walk away from the vehicle – a Ford Explorer, red in color – while carrying a white plastic bag. The bag contained items with the victim's name, an iPod, a GPS system, and $238.20 in U.S. currency.

Ofc. Davis made contact with the registered owner of the SUV and advised him of its location. The owner related that he had parked his SUV behind a bar on the 50 block of South High Street and had not given anyone permission to drive his vehicle. Ofc. Davis noted in the criminal complaint that he knew the victim.

Milbourne was charged with felony counts of TBUT and Receiving Stolen Property. He is no stranger to WCPD over the past two years:

October 9, 2007: Ofc. Harry O'Neill cites Milbourne for Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Disorderly Conduct (15-1-04, CR-0000351-07). His co-defendant in the case is one Erving Anel Rivera, who has gotten his own fair shares of wrist slaps from the court system.
November 16, 2007: Milbourne enters into a summary agreement on the case which is supposed to last for 90 days.
February 15, 2008: Over the objections of the Commonwealth, Milbourne is granted a continuance for 60 days.
April 4, 2008: Over continued objections of the Commonwealth and Ofc. O'Neill, District Judge Gwenn S. Knapp (D – 15-1-04) grants another two week continuance for Milbourne (where in other courts, his case would've been waived to Common Pleas Court) to allow this genius to complete community service – that he had five months to complete.
April 18, 2008: In the first of several generous breaks from the judicial system, Milbourne is allowed to plead guilty to summary charges of Disorderly Conduct he "complied" with his summary agreement (15-1-04, NT-0000495-08).
September 18, 2008: Ofc. Chris Daly charges Milbourne with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, 1543-A, Turn Signals, No Valid Inspection, and Disorderly Conduct; he is committed to CCP after failing to post $2,500 cash bail following his arraignment in front of Judge Bruno (15-1-01, CR-0000250-09).
November 18, 2008: Milbourne pleads guilty to summary charges of 1543-A (15-1-01, TR-0011874-08) and Disorderly Conduct (15-1-01, NT-0001350-08); he is sentenced to 56 days at CCP in lieu of fines and costs.
June 27, 2009: Ofc. Jason Malicki cites Milbourne for False Identification to Law Enforcement, Public Drunkeness, Underage Drinking, and Disorderly Conduct during which Milbourne allegedly gives a false date of birth to cover up his reported underage drinking (15-1-04, CR-000182-09). The cases are filed in AOPC under both Milbourne's correct date of birth (1989) and the false one he allegedly gave (1987).
July 31, 2009: Milbourne failes to appear for his preliminary hearing and a bench warrant is issued for his arrest.
August 14, 2009: Milbourne is arraigned on the new charges at 15-1-04 and posts 10 percent of $2,500.
August 25, 2009: Ofc. Davis cites Milbourne for Underage Drinking (15-1-04, NT-0001280-09), Public Drunkenness (15-1-04, NT-0001281-09), and Disorderly Conduct (15-1-04, NT-0001282-09).
September 4, 2009: Milbourne's bail is increased to $2,500 cash after he pleads guilty to the three new citations.
September 18, 2009: In a bizarre sense of logic (at least in the other 18 district courts), Millbourne is allowed to plead guilty to Public Drunkenness (15-1-04, NT-0001555-09), Underage Drinking (15-1-04, NT-0001555-09), and Disorderly Conduct (15-1-04, NT-0001555-09) in exchange for the False ID charges being withdrawn. On the other hand, considering he had been in jail for two weeks, and he likely would've been hit with probation if he had pled to the False ID charge, maybe this was a better sentence to begin with.
September 29, 2009: Ofc. Davis charges Milbourne with TBUT and Receiving Stolen Property. Milbourne is arraigned by Judge Bruno and committed to CCP in lieu of $7,500 cash bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday (15-1-01, CR-0000256-09).

Milbourne also has Rule 85 (Payment Determination hearings, previously referred to as Indigency Hearings) scheduled on Friday at 15-1-04 for his August guilty pleas, in which he owes $893.50 in fines and costs. He also owes $935.10 on the second Underage Drinking charge.

Something tells me that Milbourne will probably not get a summary agreement this time around on this new criminal case.