Category: In the News
HUNG JURY – SEX ASSAULT
Client’s sex assault trial ends in a hung jury after the jury decided that the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office could not prove their case. The Commonwealth’s alleged victim and witnesses clearly did not convince the jury of the FALSE allegations. In fact, through effective cross examination it was abundantly clear that the motive behind the false allegations stemmed from a bitter and contested divorce.
Moreover, it became clear that the real issue was how much money could be extorted from the accused. Attorney Steven C. Townsend promised and successfully delivered to the jury the proof of the extortion motive with a jaw dropping piece of evidence the Commonwealth did not see coming……the “extortion note” written and authenticated by the mother.
It is expected that the case will be tried again, and the Commonwealth yet again try to convict an innocent man.
A hung jury does not, in any way, imply guilt. In fact, it signifies that the client is NOT GUILTY. In this case, it underscores the lack of evidence and the incredible testimony of the alleged victim’s false allegations.
Steven C. Townsend is committed to upholding the principles of justice and the presumption of innocence. This case is a reminder of the legal system’s complexity and the importance of hiring competent counsel to protect the rights of the innocent.
No DNA, Weapon or Motive
Steve Townsend addresses the lack of evidence in this case.
BEAVER, Pa. —
Eighteen-year-old Nasean Hunt will stand trial in what authorities have described as the execution-style killing of 15-year-old Asaun Moreland one month ago in Ambridge, Beaver County.
In a preliminary hearing Wednesday, the prosecution presented five witnesses, including two eyewitnesses to the killing. The defense tried but failed to convince District Judge Eileen Conroy there wasn’t enough to hold the defendant for trial.
On July 9, Moreland was shot several times by two figures wearing hoodies and dressed in dark clothing. It happened on Church Street near the Ambridge library.
Moreland’s family was in the courtroom to hear the testimony and the decision.
“We’re just grateful, and our nephew, my brother’s son, my mother’s grandson, we are getting justice. We are getting justice., yes we are, and we are grateful, said Samantha Gibson, an aunt of the victim.
“It’s beyond a reasonable doubt, and justice will be served. yes it will, said Bambi Moreland, also an aunt of the victim.
Authorities have said Hunt was one of two shooters — including one unidentified and still at large — who shot and killed Moreland.
Witnesses testified Wednesday to hearing rapid gunfire that sounded like fireworks and then seeing two figures dressed in dark clothing, including hoodies, gunning down a third figure.
Asaun Moreland vigil in Ambridge Ambridge community honors 15-year-old shooting victim, prays for healing
None of them specifically identified Hunt, citing darkening conditions, and dark clothing, including hoodies and masks, worn by those who fired the shots.
One neighbor testified he followed the shooters while he was on the phone with 911 and saw one of them enter an apartment building.
Police testified to getting a warrant, searching that building, and finding Hunt — the only person who matched the clothing description.
Hunt’s defense attorney argued that there was no evidence actually linking Hunt directly to the crime.
“I think it’s a very thin case. I don’t think there’s anything that really ties my client to the scene, let alone the shooting. Other than the fact that he’s an individual, a Black individual, who had black clothing at the house. There’s nothing that tied him to this murder scene,” said attorney Steven Townsend.
“I would submit to you that you go downtown in Ambridge, look around and see what individuals are wearing. And about 80 percent of them are going to be wearing black hoodies and black sweat pants and some kind of tennis shoe,” Townsend said.
Federal Probation in Bank Robbery
‘There was just no way I could ever give him up.’ Mom gets probation for hiding bank robber son.
Click HERE for the full story.
“It was my son,” she said through tears. “There was just no way I could ever give him up.”
Her lawyer, Steven Townsend, argued for probation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cindy Chung pointed to the government’s sentencing papers in which prosecutors asked for a guideline sentence.
Self Defense
Trial is slated to begin on August 12, 2019. It still shocks the community that Brandon Richardson was arrested and charged. Clearly Mr. Richardson acted in self-defense after being attacked by 5 people. On the second attack one witnesses says he saw one of the deceased have his hand by his waistband….”if he didn’t have one, he sure acted like he did” Also witnesses heard the deceased making comments that they were going to “kill him and finish him off.”
Watch the video below.
Former Duquesne Basketball Player, Nick Washington, Innocent
Click the link below to listen to Nick’s story
For 18 months, I had been accused of crimes I did not commit’: Former Duquesne University basketball player talks about rape charges being dropped
Below is the real story and why the DA had evidentiary issues.
K. B. is no longer an “alleged victim of sexual assault”. She wasn’t a victim September 2017 and certainly is not a victim now. K.B. was not forced to accept the plea agreement. She chose to accept the offer as recommended to her by the Commonwealth.
Nicholas Washington never asked for a plea agreement and was prepared to go to trial. The unsolicited offer was submitted to Mr. Washington’s by the District Attorney’s Office at Grafe & Batchelor, P.C., days before trial was to begin. The Commonwealth encouraged K.B. to accept the plea because her unsubstantiated claims were simply incredible and the evidence did not support her story. The criminal defense lawyers from Tampa area can help in such cases and help attain justice.
It was her idea to go back to the dorm room, with the intent to have consensual sex. It was K.B. who told the police she never said no.
K. B. did not want to expose herself to the truth in open court so she read her victim impact statement, knowing she would not be subject to cross examination. That cross examination would have included questions regarding her own statements on the night of the incident. It would have included statements she gave to the police, which were stipulated to by the prosecution, that Mr. Washington was innocent of the allegations and had done nothing wrong. In case of fraudulent cases Finding the Right White Collar Crime Lawyer is important.
Whether you are a prosecuting attorney or a defense attorney, we are all bound by certain ethical duties. As a prosecutor those duties include, refraining from prosecuting a charge that the prosecutor knows is not supported by probable cause. If there had been probable cause, there would have been absolutely no reason to withdraw the charges. Had the Commonwealth believed her story, that alone could have provided support to proceed in the prosecution. Had this case proceeded to trial it would have been clear that Ms. Battin fabricated her story. It would have been abundantly clear that what she alleged was completely false.
If the justice system failed, it failed Nick Washington. For 18 months his life was put on hold. Between the time of the allegation and the day conveying an offer nothing had changed. Probable cause to support the charges never existed.
Mr. Washington pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct, which is the lowest level, non-sexually related misdemeanor in Pennsylvania. Mr. Washington pleaded guilty despite his innocence, only due to the inherent risks of going to trial as a young black man.
Case Withdrawn
It took almost a year to obtain justice, but finally the case was dismissed. Ms. Busia was wrongly charged with a number of serious felony offenses by an over zealous officer. She lost her job, had to fight for her unemployment, and has suffered unimaginable embarrassment from the start. After succeeding in her unemployment hearings and a lot of hard work and patience, Ms. Busia’s case is over. The entire case was withdrawn by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office as we were prepared to pick a jury on January 16, 2019.
Steven Townsend
Aliquippa Investigation Continues to Derail
Aliquippa Assistant Police Chief Joseph Perciavalle III is facing a second criminal charge in connection with content found on his cell phone as part of the investigation into the death of teacher Rachael DelTondo, according to court records.
Assistant Chief Perciavalle, 43, of Aliquippa, is accused of secretly recording a 39-minute conversation between himself and police Chief Donald Couch on March 2, according to a criminal complaint. That’s the same day that Pennsylvania State Police executed a search warrant on Aliquippa city officesin connection with a grand jury investigation into allegations of theft.
In the recorded conversation, the pair discussed Aliquippa police, the pension fund, high school football and other topics, according to the complaint.
In Pennsylvania, one person cannot record a conversation with another person without both people’s permission. Chief Couch told investigators on June 29 that he never gave Assistant Chief Perciavalle permission to record the conversation.
Assistant Chief Perciavalle is charged with a single count of intercepting communications, a felony.
His attorney, Steven Townsend, said Tuesday that the complaint is “as written completely false.”
“There is a conversation on his cell phone, there’s no denying that, but the way it was recorded is definitely not as the affidavit reads,” Mr. Townsend said, adding that Assistant Chief Perciavalle denies any wrongdoing.
“I can’t get into specifics because there are other investigations going on,” the attorney said. “But there are certain exceptions under the wiretap act in which someone can be recorded — one [is] being in a public place, which this was.”
The complaint said Assistant Chief Perciavalle and Chief Couch “rode together on patrol” during the recorded conversation. Mr. Townsend said the pair was never in the same car.
“My client and Couch were not in the same patrol car when this conversation took place,” he said, and declined to elaborate.
Assistant Chief Perciavalle was also arrested in June on a separate felony charge of sending a sexually explicit video to a 17-year-old girl who later became a witness in Ms. DelTondo’s killing.
Authorities reviewed Assistant Chief Perciavalle’s phone records as part of the homicide investigation and discovered that he sent a video of a female urinating on a swing to the girl on May 10.
Assistant Chief Perciavalle was charged with sending the explicit video on June 8, two days after he took over as acting chief of the police department. He took leadership after Chief Couch was placed on paid administrative leave by city council for an unspecified reason that is not connected to the DelTondo investigation.
After Assistant Chief Perciavalle was arrested on June 8, longtime Capt. Robert Sealock was promoted to acting chief. He remains in the role.
Assistant Chief Perciavalle is scheduled to appear for preliminary hearings in both cases on Aug. 20.
Shelly Bradbury: 412-263-1999, sbradbury@post-gazette.com or follow @ShellyBradbury on Twitter.
First Published July 10, 2018, 1:05pm
Supreme Court Strikes Down Strict Texas Abortion Law
Strict Abortion Law Stricken
By: Pete Williams
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday struck down one of the nation’s toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women’s groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state’s clinics to shut down.
The decision was 5-3.
Passed in 2013, the law said clinics providing abortion services must meet the same building standards as ambulatory surgical centers. And it required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
Since the law was passed, the number of clinics providing abortion services in Texas dropped to 19 from 42. Opponents said that number would fall to ten if the Supreme Court upheld the law.
The Center for Reproductive Rights called the law “an absolute sham,” arguing that abortion patients rarely require hospitalization and that many patients simply take two pills.
- Abortion Rights Advocate: ‘Women Across America Constitutional Rights Vindicated’
Justice Stephen G. Breyer in writing the majority opinion said “neither of these provisions offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens upon access that each imposes. Each places a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a pre-viability abortion, each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access, and each violates the Federal Constitution.”
Breyer was joined in the majority by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Anthony M. Kennedy and Sonia Sotomayor. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas dissented.
In writing his dissent, Alito said “The Court favors petitioners with a victory that they did not have the audacity to seek.”
“If anything, when a case involves a controversial issue, we should be especially careful to be scrupulously neutral in applying such rules,” Alito wrote. “The Court has not done so here. On the contrary, determined to strike down two provisions of a new Texas abortion statute in all of their applications, the Court simply disregards basic rules that apply in all other cases.”
Thomas in his own strident dissent criticized what he sees as “the Court’s troubling tendency ‘to bend the rules when any effort to limit abortion, or even to speak in opposition to abortion, is at issue’.”
Pro-choice advocates dance outside the Supreme Court where justices are weighing a case that imposes heavy restrictions on abortion clinics in Texas on June 26. JIM LO SCALZO / EPA
Surgical patients undergo a ten-minute procedure without general anesthesia in the outpatient setting of a doctor’s office or clinic, the group said, and complications from abortion are extremely rare.
Texas defended the restrictions, saying that states have wide discretion to pass laws in areas where there is medical and scientific uncertainty. The state said the law was passed “to ensure patient safety and raise standards of care.”
The court’s decision will affect similar laws in twelve other states, some now on hold because of court challenges. The restrictions in Texas represented a new front in efforts to restrict abortion by focusing on protecting the health and safety of the mother rather than the life of the fetus.
Wide-shot of courtroom on last day of opinions, 2015-16 Term. Art Lien
At the heart of the case was the standard for assessing abortion limits first announced by the Supreme Court in 1992. State laws cannot create an “undue burden” on a woman’s constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy before the fetus attains viability, it said then.
A law imposes such a burden, the court said in the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, if its “purpose or effect is to place substantial obstacles in the path” of a woman seeking to exercise that right.
Planned Parenthood celebrated the ruling.
“We are thrilled that these dangerous provisions have been struck down,” Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America said in a statement. “This is a win for women. Every person must have the right to make their own personal decisions about abortion, and we will fight like hell to ensure they do.”
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton weighed in on the ruling via Twitter saying the decision “is a victory for women in Texas and across America. Safe abortion should be a right—not just on paper, but in reality.”
Police: Use of Excessive Force
Another example of using Excessive Force
http://www.wtae.com/news/pittsburgh-police-sergeant-seen-in-controversial-heinz-field-arrest-video-fired/38300198
Pittsburgh police sergeant seen in controversial Heinz Field arrest video fired
The city has fired Pittsburgh police Sgt. Stephen Matakovich, who was suspended after the violent arrest of an allegedly intoxicated man during the WPIAL football championships at Heinz Field. Wednesday, Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich upheld an earlier decision by Police Chief Cameron McLay that Matakovich had appealed.
Matakovich is out of his job, but he has one last avenue to try to win it back.
VIDEO: Watch Bob Mayo’s report
“We have faith in both Sgt Matakovich’s criminal defense attorneys as well as the criminal justice system. The FOP will continue the internal process, which is arbitration at this point,” police union local President Howard McQuillan told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.
Attorney Bryan Campbell, who represents the FOP, believes the union can win back Matakovich’s job. You can also contact experts from Los Angeles DUI lawyers to get the job done.
“He wants to remain on the department. He’s been on the department for a long time. He’s a very responsible supervisor, he’s well-liked by the officers,” Campbell said.
Matakovich also faces re-filed criminal charges for his conduct captured on Heinz Field security video. Charges of simple assault and official oppression were dismissedby a district judge at Matakovich’s preliminary hearing Feb. 1. The district attorney’s office later refiled those charges, along with a felony count of perjury. The charges were filed after Matakovich was seen on surveillance video striking Gabriel Despres, then 19, during an arrest on charges of trespass, public drunkenness and underage drinking Nov. 28. The penalties for DUI and drunk driving is pretty huge and it is important for everyone to see this here and understand the laws behind DUI.
Campbell says the union can argue the firing is not for just cause and is not warranted by Matakovich’s history.
“It’s the FOP’s position that, one, no discipline should have been given here, and secondly, even if there was to be discipline, it wouldn’t rise to the level of a termination.”
“It is solely related to an incident that he himself was involved in, and the choices he made in that encounter. This is the consequence of that choice,” said Elizabeth Pittinger,executive director of the city’s Citizens Police Review Board.
The CPRB is an independent watchdog agency in New Jersey plea deal for drug charge that was created by voters in a referendum.
“That’s not the way Pittsburgh police officers are expected — or now, it’s been re-enforced, will not be permitted — to conduct themselves in the name of the city,” Pittinger said. “The situation reflected so poorly on all the rest of the officers that are out there doing their job properly with compassion every single day.” The new york escalator accident lawyer are experts in dealing with cases that pertain their niche.
Some Matakovich supporters have set up a GoFundMe webpage to raise money to help his family.
“I can understand why a lot of officers would want to contribute because Sgt. Matakovich is a popular person,” Campbell said.
The GoFundMe page claims “he was recently caught up in the mass hysteria that is the anti-police movement in this country.”
“Hardly. He got caught up in his own conduct.,” responded Pittinger. “A police officer conducting himself in an extremely unbecoming manner, so much so that it resulted in criminal charges. That’s not mass hysteria or anti-police. It’s anti-bullying and it’s anti-excessive force.
“He’s a very responsible supervisor, he’s well-liked by the officers, they feel that they feel safe working for him. They feel that he has very good judgment and that this is unwarranted,” Campbell said.
“At the direction of my legal counsel, I am not making any statements and will not give any interviews,” Matakovich told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.
Even with a request to expedite the appeal, it could be 45 days before an arbitration appeal hearing for Matakovich. Legal experts suggest that, getting help after an accident immediately is a good idea.
He faces a complicated path ahead, dealing with both the Police Bureau action and the criminal charges, noted Pittinger. “It’s an unfortunate situation all around. There are no winners here. Unfortunately, Stephen Matakovich made some decisions in November that have resulted in this outcome. He’s no longer a Pittsburgh police officer.”
Supreme Court says convicted felons can sell their guns
Supreme Court says convicted felons can sell their guns
By By SAM HANANEL
WASHINGTON (AP) — A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday that the government can’t prevent a convicted felon who is barred from possessing firearms from trying to sell his guns after they are confiscated by authorities. It is best to check out more here if you want to buy guns legally, without involving the authenticity.
The justices sided with Tony Henderson, a former U.S. Border Patrol agent who agreed to turn over his collection of 19 firearms to the FBI as a condition of release after he was arrested and charged with distributing marijuana.
After he pleaded guilty, Henderson wanted to sell the weapons valued at more than $3,500 to a friend, or transfer them to his wife. But lower courts found that doing so would technically give Henderson possession of the weapons in violation of the law. Prosecutors also said they were concerned that Henderson’s friend or wife might give him access to the weapons.
Writing for the court, Justice Elena Kagan said letting a convicted felon sell or transfer guns is allowed as long as a court is satisfied that the person getting the weapons won’t give the felon control over them.
“A felon cannot evade the strictures of (the law) by arranging a sham transfer that leaves him in effective control of his guns,” Kagan said.
Kagan said the district court could have ordered the guns turned over to a federally-licensed firearms dealer, who would sell them with proceeds going to Henderson. She said the lower court also could allow Henderson to transfer the guns to another person who will not allow him “to exert any influence over their use.”
She said the government’s reading of the law goes too far in saying Henderson would illegally “possess” the weapons just by being allowed to sell them.
The case had drawn the attention of gun-rights groups, including the National Rifle Association, which argued that the government’s attempt to prohibit any sale or transfer prevents law-abiding citizens who want to buy the guns from doing so.