KNUCKLEHEAD REPORT - 07/05/08

Mother nature scuttled more than a few fireworks shows across the county last night, but that hasn't stopped the list of knuckleheads from exploding over the past few weeks. Earlier this week, Unplugged exposed a few more knuckleheads picked up by West Chester Police; now, it's time to hit the rest of the county...

We start off on the Main Line, where a Phoenixville man who was recently arrested on a DUI charge managed to get arrested again, this time on drug related offenses.

Maximillian Sebastian Stahl, 18, of Phoenixville, was arrested by Ofc. Robert Reynolds of the Tredyffrin Police on charges of DUI, Possession of Drug Paraphanalia, and traffic offenses on a complaint that was filed on May 20 in Devon District Court. A prelim had been scheduled for July 23 on that case (15-1-02, CR-0000092-08).

Stahl didn't waste any time joining the land of the knuckleheads after he was arrested on June 23 by Ofc. James Sesher of the Easttown Police on charges of Possession of Marijuana, Posession of Drug Parapahanalia, and Possession of Drug Paraphanalia with the Intent to Deliver. A prelim in that case is scheduled for August 20, also at Devon District Court (15-1-02, CR-0000113-08)...

A state parolee with multiple PWID and robbery twice tried to elude apprehension by Coatesville Police, however, he was eventually caught and is now a guest at the Pocopson Hilton.

Samuel Lee Womack, 36, was charged with Flight to Avoid Apprehension, REAP, and traffic offenses on a complaint filed in Coatesville District Court by Det. Michael Raech. The first case stemmed from an incident on June 19; a prelim is scheduled for Wednesday in front of Coatesville District Judge Robert Davis (15-1-03, CR-0000187-08).

In the second case, filed by Det. Chris McEvoy at Valley District Court, Womack was charged with Flight to Avoid Apprehension, False Reports to Law Enforcement, False Identification to Law Enforcement, REAP, Simple Assault, and Defiant Trespassing after a June 25 incident.

Womack was recently paroled from state custody after serving an 8-to-16 year sentence following 6 drug transactions in Oxford, Lower Oxford, and Penn Township in August 2000. Womack also has two robbery convictions and a PWID conviction in Philadelphia, to which he served 11 1/2 to 23 months in jail, as well as a PWID conviction in Delaware County, stemming from a 1991 arrest in Darby Borough.

Womack was arraigned by Phoenixville District Judge Ted Michaels and committed to CCP in lieu of $100,000 cash bail on both cases. Womack's hearing in Valley is scheduled for Monday (15-1-05, CR-0000109-08)...

Speaking of which, a Phoenixville man had three cases filed against him in district court on theft related charges. Jospeh Edward Cindric, 48, was charged with Forgery and Bad Checks after a complaint filed by Ofc. Joseph Heyman of the East Pikeland Police. After an initial prelim on May 15, Cindric was released on $10,000 unsecured bail. The hearing in that case had recently been continued to August 14 (15-2-01, CR-0000152-08).

On May 28, Cindric was hit with a new set of charges by Ofc. Heyman. In the second case, Cindric was charged with Theft by Deception, on which he was recently ordered held for trial. His bail in that case was set at 10 percent of $1,500 with trial in Common Pleas Court pending in front of Judge Anthony Sarcione (15-2-01, CR-0000168-08; CP-15-CR-0002458-2008).

Cindric's third case, also a Theft by Deception charge, was withdrawn at the June 26 prelim on the second set of charges (15-2-01, CR-0000184-08).

Cindric was also held on a probation detainer on an underlying Bad Check charge filed as a private complaint in Downingtown District Court. Cindric was sentenced to 1 year probation and ordered to pay $3,520 in restitution after writing presenting a bad check to D'Ambrosio Dodge in East Caln in May 2006 (CP-15-CR-0001345-2007)...

Michael Dominic Bazik, 37, of Phoenixville, was arrested on June 23 by Phoenixville Police on charges of Burglary, TBUT, Receiving Stolen Property, Criminal Trespassing, Criminal Mischief, and Unauthorized Use of Motor Vehicles after an incident investigated by Ofc. Nicholas Natale. Bazik had been arraigned that morning by Judge Michaels and released on unsecured bail with a prelim scheduled for July 10 (15-2-01, CR-0000197-08).

It didn't take long for Bazik to draw a new set of charges ... the very next day, as a matter of fact.

On June 24, Ofc. Jose Sousa of the Phoenixville Police arrested Bazik and charged him with Theft of Services. Bazik was arraigned in Coatesville by Judge Davis and committed to CCP in lieu of $7,500 cash bail (15-2-01, CR-0000201-08). Bazik's bail on the June 23 case was revoked and re-set at 10 percent of $7,500 after a hearing on Thursday...

An East Bradford man who is no stranger to county and township officials alike is facing new charges in Phoenixville District Court which may have an impact on his probation in a very contentious criminal case from three years ago.

Michael Norley, 54, was charged with TBUT and Disorderly Conduct on a complaint filed by Ofc. Susette Wilson of the East Pikeland Police. A preliminary hearing in front of Judge Michaels is scheduled for August 7 (15-2-01, CR-0000210-08).

Norley is currently serving 4 years of probation after a conviction on Criminal Trespassing charges during a bench trial in front of Common Pleas Court Judge William Mahon. The trial stemmed from a May 24, 2004 arrest by Ofc. Stuart Smith of WCPD in East Bradford. At a bench trial in April 2005, Norley was convicted of a 3rd degree felony charge of Criminal Trespassing and sentenced to 2 years probation. An appeal to Superior Court was dismissed due to untimely filing of briefs.

More recently, Norley was found to be in violation of his probation; on August 3, 2007, Norley was resentenced to 4 years probation after a Gagnon II hearing. An appeal of that sentence was also filed to the Superior Court; as was the case in the post-trial appeal, the appeal of the violation was also dismissed (CP-15-CR-0002606-2004)...

Now, it's off to Upper Uwchlan, where a Chester Springs man waived his prelim on DUI charges, only to get arrested less than 24 hours later.

Surya Kumar Tyagi, 40, was arrested on April 3 by Ofc. Christopher Bright of the Upper Uwchlan Police on charges of DUI, Reckless Driving, and Failure to Keep Right. At his prelim on June 3 in front of Lionville District Judge Stanley Scott, Tyagi waived his prelim to apply for ARD (15-2-07, CR-0000092-08; CP-15-CR-0002151-2008).

Just 24 hours after appearing in front of Judge Scott, Tyagi's chances of acceptance into ARD disappeared.

On June 4, Ofc. Kyle Sherman of the Upper Uwchlan Police charged Tyagi with DUI after a traffic stop. Tyagi was arraigned in front of Exton District Judge Larry Smith and committed to CCP that night in lieu of 10 percent of $25,000 bail, which was posted one week later. A prelim on the new DUI charges is scheduled for July 22 in front of Judge Scott (15-2-07, CR-0000126-08)...

A Phoenixville man who was one of 10 prisoners involved in a 2004 prison riot found himself in trouble with authorities again.

On May 7, Ofc. Kurt DeForrest of the East Pikeland Police charged Brandyn Thomas Wingo, 23, with Fleeing and Eluding Police, Disorderly Conduct, 1543-A, Reckless Driving, and Operating Following Suspension of Registration. Wingo was released on summons in that case and had a prelim scheduled for June 12 in front of Judge Michaels.

After failing to appear for the June 12 hearing, Wingo was arrested four days later and arragined on the East Pikeland charges. Wingo was released on $100,000 unsecured bail and has a prelim scheduled for July 10 on that case (15-2-01, CR-0000149-08).

During that period, Ofc. Karl Jones of the East Vincent Police filed charges of TBUT, Simple Assault, REAP, Harassment, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Drivers Required to be Licensed, and Receiving Stolen Property following a June 5 incident. A warrant had been pending with Wingo planning to surrender later that week. Instead, Wingo was taken into custody on June 18 and arraigned by Downingtown District Judge Rita Arnold.

Bail on the East Vincent charges was set at $3,000 cash; on-line records indicated that bail hadn't been posted on that case, hence Wingo's return trip to the Pocopson Hilton. A prelim in that case is scheduled for July 10 in front of Pottstown District Judge James DeAngelo (15-3-01, CR-0000175-08).

In December 2005, Wingo was sentenced to 4-to-24 months in state prison to run consecutive to a slew of county sentences after pleading guilty to Riot-Intent to Commit a Felony and Criminal Conspiracy for his involvement in a March 3, 2005 riot at CCP. Nine other inmates were charged in the incident (CP-15-CR-0002339-2005).

At the time of the riot, Wingo had been at CCP awaiting trial on three separate assaults in Phoenixville in May 2004. A parole detainer had been filed against Wingo the day after he was committed to CCP on the East Vincent case. Wingo was sentenced to 254 days to 23 months at CCP for the assault on May 15, 2004 (CP-15-CR-0003812-2004), and to two consecutive probation terms of 2 years on Resisting Arrest charges from his apprehension on May 17, 2004 (CP-15-CR-0002354-2004) and an assault on May 7, 2004 (CP-15-CR-0002553-2004).

It's also likely that Wingo has a state parole detainer pending against him as well, based on the riot conviction, though that hasn't been confirmed.

During his arraginment in front of Judge Arnold, Wingo's attorney claimed that his client had been employed at a foundary in Spring City, however Wingo had been laid off. Police sources, however, claim that Wingo was actually fired from his job after a dispute with a co-worker.

It's safe to say that Wingo has more than a few issues with anger management...

There are more knuckleheads out there waiting to be exposed; we'll head down to Oxford, Avondale, Thorndale, and even Chesterbrook with the next update. Let's just say this report was just the tip of the iceberg...