DeWitt says charges brought against him are politically motivated
Connellsville mayoral candidate Joshua DeWitt said charges that have been brought against him for his alleged role in a purported chop-shop operation are politically motivated.
Dale R. Naugle, 29, testified on Thursday at a preliminary hearing that DeWitt, 27, of 324 Ogden St., was present and “might have helped a little bit” with dismantling parts from a 2005 Ford F150 truck that police say Naugle stole from Davies Ford in Connellsville on March 3, 2011. DeWitt is charged with owning or operating a chop shop, receiving stolen property and conspiracy to commit both.
In a statement released Friday, DeWitt referenced the fact that a single charge of owning or operating a chop shop that was brought against him last year was dismissed. Police refiled that charge, and the additional ones, earlier this month.
“Now, 14 months later, after being coerced by the state, after cutting deals with the state to save his own skin, Dale Naugle took the stand and lied about me,” DeWitt said. “The only thing that changed in those 14 months is that, today, I’m running for mayor of Connellsville and it’s one week before the election. Dale Naugle could have read from a Hollywood movie script, and it would have been more truthful than what he said Thursday.”
DeWitt, a Democrat, will appear on the May 21 primary ballot along with incumbent Mayor Charles Matthews and Greg Lincoln, a laborer for the North Fayette County Municipal Authority, who is also the son of former Sen. Bill Lincoln.
“You don’t have to be some genius to see that this event (on Thursday) was orchestrated by the Lincoln family and their law enforcement friends,” DeWitt said. “Look no further than Facebook and you will see photo after photo of the ex-senator with his long-time friends and political allies. Look at who the ex-senator endorses and the political events he attends. Coincidence? I don’t think so. You know as well as I do that Bill Lincoln would do anything to get his son elected mayor.”
In response to the statement, Greg Lincoln said if DeWitt thinks his family has anything to do with the charges that were brought against him, he should contact Kathleen Kane at the Attorney General’s office.
“When he was charged the first time for this crime, there was no mayor’s race at all, so my family didn’t have anything to do with the first time he was charged — there wasn’t a mayor’s race,” Greg Lincoln said. “I also think the state police have better things to do with their time than to worry about who’s running for mayor.”
Lincoln said he’s not focusing on DeWitt.
“I’m just focused on the next four days,” he said. “We’re continuing to be out in the neighborhoods, getting my message across that I want to bring change to the city for good. I’m not going to focus on him at all.”
At DeWitt’s preliminary hearing Thursday, Magisterial District Judge Ronald Haggerty Jr., held all charges against him for Fayette County Court.