Court briefs
Guilty plea entered A Uniontown man who last week was not willing to plead guilty to drug charges and a related citation for driving with a suspended license changed his mind Monday.
Russell N. Sanders, 27, pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana, possession of cocaine and possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, as well as driving with a suspended or revoked license.
In exchange, Fayette County Judge Conrad B. Capuzzi will entertain prosecutors’ proposed sentence of three to six years, plus 90 days in jail.
Sanders was charged by Redstone Township Police Capt. H. Dennis Field Jr. after Field pulled him over along Route 40 on July 23, 1999. A search of the car revealed 8.8 grams of crack cocaine and 0.8 grams of marijuana.
The three- to six-year sentence is to run at the same time as another drug case on which Sanders has already been sentenced. The 90 days, for driving with a suspended license, will run consecutively to all cases. The law dictates that such an offense cannot run at the same time as any other sentence.
It was the 90-day addition that last week stopped Sanders from taking the plea.
Drug trial to continue
Shawn Antonio Hill’s drug trial will continue this morning in Fayette County Court.
Hill, no address or age listed, was arrested by Uniontown police officer Jonathan Grabiak last Nov. 25 after the officer allegedly saw Hill holding a bag with a white substance in his hand.
When Grabiak got out of his car at Searight Avenue and Dunlap Street, the arrest warrant said that Hill stuck a bag in his sweatshirt pocket. A search of Hill revealed two bags, one that had two pieces of crack cocaine, the other contained 33 pieces, said police.
Hill is charged with possession and possession with intent to deliver the drugs.
Assistant District Attorney Mark D. Brooks is prosecuting the case; Assistant Public Defender Mary Campbell Spegar represents Hill.
Judge John F. Wagner Jr. is presiding over the case.
Charges dismissed
Charges of forgery and tampering with records filed against Francine Farmerie-Zwibel were dismissed Monday by Fayette County Judge Ralph C. Warman.
Farmerie-Zwibel’s attorney, Susan Ritz Harper made a motion to dismiss the charges because the prosecution had not proved that she illegally forged a deed for land.
State police charged that on April 7, 1997, Farmerie- Zwibel first changed land co-owned by herself, her step-brother, William White, and White’s mother, Alfretta White, into the names of William White, and his wife, Laura Ann.
The deed was prepared by Farmerie-Zwibel under the name “Danielle R. Hagan.” Police said Farmerie-Zwibel used the Hagan name when she did work as a notary.
That deed was filed in the office of the recorder of deeds in the county courthouse.
Four days later, police alleged that Farmerie-Zwibel went back to the recorder of deeds office and filed a new deed that gave her sole ownership of the land without notifying White. Authorities allege she forged his name to the necessary documents to transfer ownership.
William White testified that he became concerned in July 1999 when he realized he had not received any tax notices since the property had been transferred into his name.
White also said he never gave Farmerie-Zwibel permission to transfer the property out of his name.
Assistant District Attorney Mark Mehalov prosecuted the case.
Trial gets under way
The trial for a Uniontown used car dealer began Monday in Fayette County Court.
According to his defense attorney Blair Joseph George, 44, of 10 Leslie St. should not be facing criminal charges for failing to hand over titles to four vehicles to their owners. George operated B&G Auto Sales at 280 Coolspring St. in Uniontown.
“Mr. George is a business person who had some financial problems,” said defense attorney Samuel Davis.
George is charged with four felony counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, tampering with records or identification and several other counts for allegedly failing to comply with state laws regarding vehicle ownership.
Assistant District Attorney Eugene Grimm said George took money for the four vehicles, but did not turn the money in to Mt. State Auto Auction in West Virginia. Mt. State, said Grimm, financially backed George in purchasing vehicles to sell. In exchange, they were to split the profits, and when George paid the vehicles off, he got the titles, alleged police.
The matter came to light when two people who bought vehicles from George called state police because they paid the vehicles off, but did not receive their pink slips. Two contacted by police had the same complaint, according to the arrest warrant.
When police talked to George, Davis said that explained that he was behind financially, but was working to catch up. George, said Davis, tried to make a $6,000 payment on $10,000 owed Mt. State Auto Auction, but was prohibited.
Davis said the auction company told George that police instructed them not to accept any payments from him.
“This is a civil matter. It should be a civil matter, but they filed criminal charges instead,” said Davis. “You should not use the criminal justice system to collect money.”
Davis said George, who has been in business since 1985, was making payments and planned to get the vehicle titles from the auction house.
The arrest warrant indicated that, as of March 19, 2001, George owed Mt. State Auto Auction $29,700.