The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

December 11, 2009

UPDATE: Court reinstates evidence in drug case

By Joe Pinchot

WEST MIDDLESEX — By 2-1, a panel of Superior Court has reversed a Mercer County judge’s ruling to suppress evidence in a drug case.

The decision reinstates evidence against Matthew C. Skarica, 24, of 139 Jackson Road, West Middlesex, who was charged with possession of 13 ounces of marijuana, possession with intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas R. Dobson said Southwest Mercer County Regional police held Skarica too long before taking him before a district judge on a traffic warrant.

Southwest said they got a tip Nov. 6, 2007, that Skarica was involved in drug activity and, knowing the warrant was outstanding for his arrest, looked for him and arrested him.

Police questioned Skarica and he told them he stored marijuana at 2019 Landay Lane, Farrell. After obtaining a search warrant, police said they found marijuana under a mattress in a bedroom and in a jeans pocket. Burnt pot was found in an ashtray in another bedroom, and a lockbox found in an attic contained a scale, sandwich bags and marijuana, police said.

Skarica was arrested at 2:47 p.m., but was not released until after 6 p.m., when a constable told him to report the next morning to the office of District Judge Ronald E. Antos, Farrell.

In a suppression motion, Assistant Mercer County Public Defender Charles F. Gilchrest said police are required promptly to take a person arrested on a warrant before the judge who issued the warrant.

At issue is a rule of criminal procedure that states that, when someone is arrested on a warrant between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., police are to take that person before the judge who issued the warrant “without unnecessary delay.”

Dobson agreed with Gilchrest, but the Mercer County District Attorney’s Office appealed arguing that a three-hour delay was not unnecessary.

“The grant of a motion to suppress evidence is the exception and not the rule when it comes to the remedy employed for violation of a procedural rule by police,” said Superior Court Senior Judge Zoran Popovich, writing for himself and Judge Cheryl Lynn Allen.

Popovich cited a state Supreme Court case in which the court ruled suppression was not warranted when the rule is violated by police.

Southwest committed a “mere technical violation,” Popovich said in a precedential opinion filed Wednesday.

Even if Southwest had complied with the rule, Skarica still might have been detained past the time when he could pay the fine and costs or plead not guilty to the warrant charge, Popovich said.

“And, unlike the trial court, we are of the view that it is not uncharacteristic for a person arrested because of an outstanding warrant to be detained by police and questioned, which is what occurred” in the Skarica case, Popovich said.

Superior Court President Judge Kate Ford Elliott dissented, but did not publish an opinion.

Text Only
Local News
  • Storm blows in fast, leaves damage

    A scattered storm that started in Michigan and pulled in moisture over Lake Erie organized itself into a locally-severe storm system Sunday over Mercer County.

    May 28, 2012

  • transit Transit is once-in-a-lifetime show

    A rare celestial wonder that won’t be seen again for more than a century is set to play out before our eyes and Farrell’s resident astronomer  is giving locals a chance to get a first-hand look at a “black dawn.”

    May 28, 2012 1 Photo

  • Ominous clouds Storms rumble through parts of Mercer County

    Temperatures dropped nearly 20 degrees Sunday as storms rumbled through parts of Mercer County in the afternoon and again in the evening. Some areas experienced high gusting winds during the early storms. The later storms were less windy, but dumped a lot of rain in a short span in the Shenango Valley as well as outlying areas. Temperatures are forecast for in the 90s on Memorial Day, with a chance of storms in the afternoon. Check out Sunday's Herald both in print and here for more details.

     

     

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • Board wants pay freeze


    Sharon City School District officials are asking staff to take a wage freeze for the second year in a row to help cover a $1.9 million gap in the 2012-2013 budget in the face of further funding cuts by the state.

    May 27, 2012

  • City taps Pa. grant for downtown facelift


    The colorful flower baskets hanging in downtown Sharon are just one of the planted seeds officials hope will help the once-bustling area grow.

    May 27, 2012

  • pension graphic Pension bomb ticking for city

    The city of Sharon pays more people who don’t work there anymore than folks who still do.

    And the amount of money the city must pay to the retirees is going up about $250,000 next year, a hike that creates more problems for the cash-strapped town, City Manager Scott Andrejchak said.

    May 26, 2012 1 Photo

  • Church softball league to Mormons: You’re out!

    The Grove City Area Church Softball League’s decision to exclude a Mormon team from Slippery Rock has sparked a controversy far beyond the local sandlot.

    May 26, 2012

  • Fired bus driver files lawsuit

    A Mercer County woman fired from her job as a school bus driver over a 25-year-old drug conviction filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against a state education official and Jamestown Area School District.

    May 26, 2012

  • Recycling program a bit too popular

    The  county’s effort at going green by encouraging recycling in rural areas has been a tremendous success by most accounts, but isn’t without a few glitches. In Wilmington Township, residents often only have a window of a few minutes to get cardboard recyclables in before the bin is full, prompting a discussion among Mercer County Commissioners Wednesday morning.

    May 25, 2012

  • District will tap reserve fund

    Reynolds school directors plan to fill a $374,567 hole in the 2012-2013 budget with money from the district’s fund balance.

    May 25, 2012