Allegheny County Criminal Defense Attorney
**No attorney can ever guarantee a result with 100% certainty. To do so is not only irresponsible, but an outright lie. Every case is as unique to the individual client as the results you see below. The following list is demonstrative of my experience and the array of matters I handle. An in person consultation should always be sought in matters such as those listed below.
Record of Success
Comm v. D.B. (2007) – D.B. was charged with Aggravated Assault and Criminal Conspiracy and was facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 -10 years incarceration. The Commonwealth presented an eyewitness, with no interest in the outcome of the case, who identified my client as being the driver of the vehicle from which the shots were fired. The Commonwealth also proved that my the car driven belonged to my client.
Result: Not Guilty of all charges following trial by jury.
Comm v. L.A. (2008) – L.A. was charged with 1st, 2nd Degree Homicide, 3rd Degree Murder, Robbery, and Criminal Conspiracy. If convicted of either 1st or 2nd Degree Homicide client was facing mandatory Life Without Parole. There were several defendants involved in this incident. The Commonwealth presented two eyewitnesses at trial identifying my client as the person who stabbed the victim arguing that my client should be convicted of 1st or 2nd degree homicide. This case went through three mistrials (caused by the Commonwealth) before a verdict was finally reached.
Result: Not Guilty of 1st Degree Homicide, 2nd Degree Homicide, and Robbery, avoiding the mandatory life sentence.
Comm v. L.M. (2010) – L.M. was charged with Persons not to Possess a Firearm, Carrying a Firearm Without a License, several narcotics offenses, and a minor charge of Resisting Arrest. His criminal record was bad enough that he was facing a standard range sentence of 5 -10 years on the weapons offenses alone. As a matter of trial strategy, my client admitted that he did in fact resist arrest.
Result: Not Guilty of all major offense following jury trial.
Comm v. H.T. (2010) – H.T. was charged with Burglary, Robbery, Aggravated Asssault, and Criminal Conspiracy in an alleged home invasion over drugs and gang warfare. H.T. was facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 – 10 years at each of the charges separately for a possibility of 20 – 40 years in the aggregate. We negotiated a plea offer from the Commonwealth for a cumulative sentence of 2 – 4 years. H.T. still declined insisting on his innocence and trial ensued.
Result: Not Guilty of all charges following trial by jury.
Comm v. D.H. (2009) – D.H. was charged with his second DUI. If convicted, he was facing a mandatory sentence of 30 days in the Allegheny County Jail. More important to D.H., he would lose his license for 12 months. We negotiated a plea offer from the Commonwealth whereby my client would serve his sentence on home confinement (no jail time). D.H. declined the offer in order to present a motion that we prepared. If the motion was granted, it would result in the dismissal of the case.
Result: Case dismissed following presentation of defense motion to suppress.
Comm v. P.D. (2010) – P.D. was charged with theft from her former employer in the amount of approximately $300. Although she was not facing jail time for the offense, she did not want a conviction on her otherwise spotless record. As a result, we proceeded through a non-jury (bench) trial.
Result: Case dismissed immediately following the presentation of the Commonwealth’s case in chief.
Comm v. P.C. (2009-2010) – P.C. was charged with his 3rd, 4th, and 5th DUIs. He was facing mandatory sentences of 1½ - 3 years in the state prison system if the sentences were run consecutive.
Result: Client admitted to a special DUI court program with lesser sentence to be served on home confinement.
Comm v. D.B. (2010) – D.B. was charged with Aggravated Assault and Criminal Conspiracy. If convicted, she was facing a minimum sentence ranging anywhere between 6 and 12 months of incarceration. The Commonwealth offered home confinement if she would plead guilty to the charges. My client elected to go to trial denying any and all involvement in the matter.
Result: Not Guilty of all charges following trial by jury.
Comm v. M.J. (2010) – M.J. was charged with Possession of Marijuana which is an ungraded misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of 6 months incarceration.
Result: Plea to Disorderly Conduct (which is expugnable after 5 years).
Comm v. B.S. (2010) – B.S. was charged with Rape by Forcible Compulsion which is a 1st degree Felony and carries a maximum sentence of 20 years incarceration.
Result: Case dismissed at preliminary hearing.
Comm v. V.D. (2010) – V.D. was charged with Felony Drug Trafficking and Misdemeanor Drug Posession involving 50+ Marijuana plants. V.D. was facing two mandatory 5 year prison terms due to the weight of the drugs and the presence of a firearm within the operation.
Result: Plea to misdemeanor charges with a penalty of two years of probation.
Comm v. B.S. (2009) – B.S. was charged with Aggravated Assault and Public Intoxication. If convicted, B.S. would not only face a sentence on the current set of charges, but would also face an additional sentence from another judge that B.S. was already serving a term of probation for.
Result: Full withdrawal of all charges.
Comm v. R.K.H. (2009) – R.K.H. was charged with Illegal Transfer of a Firearm (Felony) and False Reports to Law Enforcement (Misdemeanor). If convicted, R.K.H. would not only face jail time, but he would be forever prevented from owning a firearm again, even for hunting.
Result: Plea to misdemeanor and 6 months of probation.
Comm v. S.N. (2009) – S.N. was charged with theft from her place of employment in the amount of $8,500. This was a felony level offense for which S.N. could have received jail time and a permanent record.
Result: Client admitted to the ARD program. Upon repayment of funds stolen and completion of community service, S.N.’s criminal record will be fully expunged.
Comm v. J.H. (2008) – J.H. was charged with Terroristic Threats, Theft by Extortion, Criminal Conspiracy, Criminal Attempt, Possession of Marijuana, and Harassment. This client was previously represented by another attorney. Upon reviewing the case, I felt confident that the Commonwealth would not be able to meet its burden.
Result: Plea to Summary offense which is the lowest level offense and is expungeable.
Comm v. J.F. (2008) – J.F. was charged with Access Device Fraud (Felony 3) and Theft by Unlawful Taking (Misdemeanor). J.F. was facing a potential jail sentence of 9 – 18 months.
Result: Case dismissed by agreement of all parties upon repayment of restitution owed to the victim.
Comm v. J.B. (2009) – Client was charged with DUI 1st offense but was ineligible for ARD because he was also charged with Fleeing and Eluding. As a result, if J.B. did not get into the ARD program, he would face mandatory jail time and a harsh license suspension.
Result: After we filed a specialized motion to attack only the charge of Fleeing and Eluding, the Commonwealth agreed to drop that charge and admit J.B. to the ARD program with no jail time and a significantly reduced license suspension.
Comm v. Z.C. (2009) – Z.C. (who was still under the age of 21) was charged with his 3rd DUI and was facing a mandatory prison sentence of 1 – 2 years. The matter was further complicated by the fact that he was not a resident of Allegheny County and could not participate in the local court program for house arrest.
Result: We negotiated a plea with the District Attorney’s Office and convinced the Judge to accept it whereby my client was sentenced to home confinement with work release in North Carolina.
Comm v. E.P. (2010) – E.P. was charged with Theft by Unlawful Taking ($16,000) which is a 3rd Degree Felony. In addition to jail time, E.P. was facing a serious parole violation if convicted of this offense.
Result: Not Guilty of all charges following 30 minutes of jury deliberation.
Comm v. J.M. (2008) – J.M. was charged with Felony Aggravated Assault of an infant. The allegation was that J.M. broke the arm of a newborn grandchild. By statute, this offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in state prison.
Result: After preparing for trial, J.M. plead no contest to a lesser included offense of Simple Assault and received 6 months of probation.
Comm v. T.B. (2010) – Client was charged with Robbery (Felony 1), Criminal Conspiracy (Felony 1), Assault by Prisoner (Felony 2), Terroristic Threats (Misdemeanor 1), Assault (Misdemeanor 2), and Harrasment (Misdemeanor 3). T.B. was an inmate at the Allegheny County Jail who was accused of brutally attacking and robbing another in inmate while incarcerated. T.B.’s standard range sentence on the Robbery charge alone was calling for 10 – 20 years of imprisonment if convicted. If convicted of all charges, T.B. was facing a potential maximum sentence of 59 years of incarceration.
Result: After preparing for trial, I negotiated a plea with the DA whereby T.B. plead guilty to Assault and Harassment and received one (1) year of probation.
Comm v. J.S. (2010) – J.S. was charged with his second DUI in ten years which is a Misdemeanor 1. This is normally not a major offense and can usually result in a period of House Arrest. Unfortunately, J.S. had a significant prior record and his standard range sentence was calling for a minimum of 24 months incarceration in the state penitentiary. The DA would not agree to anything less than the standard range sentence as the case was very good.
Result: We decided to plead J.S. generally before the court and prepared J.S. to take the stand and present his sympathetic situation to the Judge. After considering our arguments, the Judge sentenced J.S. to a minimum of 6 months rather than 24.
Comm v. B.O. (2009) – B.O. was charged with Owning and Operating a Chop Shop (Felony 2), Criminal Conspiracy (Felony 2), two counts of Tampering With Evidence (Misdemeanor 2), and Receiving Stolen Property (Misdemeanor 3). If convicted, B.O. was facing a minimum sentence of between 12 – 18 months of incarceration.
Result: After preparing for trial and pointing out the problems with the Commonwealth’s case to the DA, all charges were dropped, B.O. plead guilty to Tampering With Evidence, and was sentenced to a term of probation.
Comm v. F.C. (2009) – F.C. was charged with Receiving Stolen Property (Felony 3), Theft of Leased Property (Misdemeanor 1), and Criminal Mischief (Misdemeanor 3). F.C. was facing maximum penalties of 14 years incarceration if convicted on all counts.
Result: Prior to the preliminary hearing I convinced the DA to withdraw Receiving Stolen Property. Following the preliminary hearing, the Judge dismissed the entire case.
Comm v. D.S. (2008) – D.S. was charged with Burglary (Felony 1), Receiving Stolen Property (Felony 3), and Receiving Stolen Property (Misdemeanor 1). D.S. was facing maximum penalties of 32 years incarceration if convicted on all counts.
Result: Following negotiations with the DA, all counts were withdrawn and D.S. plead guilty to Misdemeanor Receiving Stolen Property and was sentenced to 6 – 12 months incarceration.
Comm v. S.D. (2009) – S.D. was charged with her 2nd DUI (Misdemeanor 1) and was facing a mandatory minimum 90-day jail sentence. S.D. was from Ohio and would lose her job if she went to jail in Allegheny County.
Result: Following negotiations with the DA, S.D. was permitted to serve her sentence on House Arrest and the sentence was transferred to her home county in Ohio so she would not lose her employment.
Comm v. D.P. (2008) – D.P. was charged with one count of Robbery (Felony 1) and was facing a mandatory sentence of 5 -10 years incarceration because he was alleged to have used a firearm in the commission of the crime. The victim of the crime had previously identified D.P. out of a photo array as being the perpetrator of the offense. To make matters worse, there was surveillance video of the incident depicting a person who could have been D.P. Finally, D.P. had written a letter to some of his friends regarding the case and asking them to “talk” to the victim. Needless to say, the Commonwealth was not offering any plea deals.
Result: Not Guilty following a jury trial on the matter.
Comm v. R.C. (2009) – R.C. was charged with Violation of the Uniform Firearms Act (Felony 3), Drug Trafficking (Felony Ungraded), Possession of Drugs (Misdemeanor Ungraded), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Misdemeanor Ungraded). If convicted, R.C. was facing a mandatory 5 -10 year sentence even though she had no prior criminal record.
Result: Following negotiations with the DA, R.C. plead guilty to one count of Possession of Drugs, and was sentenced to probation without verdict. As long as R.C. completes probation without any problems, her record is subject to being expunged and erased.
Comm v. R.W. (2009) – R.W. was charged with Public Drukeness (Summary). While there was no possibility of jail time, R.W. was concerned regarding background checks by potential employers.
Result: Dismissal of the charge and criminal record expunged.
Comm v. B.M. (2009) – B.M. was charged with Burglary (Felony 1), Criminal Conspiracy (Felony 1), Carrying a Firearm Without a License (Felony 3), Receiving Stolen Property (Misdemeanor 1), and Tampering With Evidence (Misdemeanor 2). If convicted, B.M. was facing a maximum term of incarceration of 55 years.
Result: At the preliminary hearing we successfully negotiated the withdrawal of Criminal Conspiracy and Tampering With Evidence in exchange for a waiver of the preliminary hearing. After preparing for trial, the Commonwealth was forced to withdraw the remainder of the charges.
Comm v. J.S. (2009) – J.S. was charged with 5 counts of DUI (Misdemeanor 1), Fleeing and Eluding (Felony 3), 6 counts of Recklessly Endangering Another Person (Misdemeanor 2), Possession of a Controlled Substance (Misdemeanor Ungraded), Resisting Arrest (Misdemeanor 2), and over 30 moving violations!!! To make matters worse, J.S. was on probation with another judge for charges stemming from 1993. If he was convicted of the new criminal charges, his probationary judge could give him another sentence entirely separate from the 40 year maximums he was facing on his new charges.
Result: After negotiations with the Commonwealth, J.S. plead guilty to 1 DUI, Fleeing and Eluding, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Driving Without a License, and was given a 3 – 6 month sentence for which he had time credit. We were later able to convince his probation judge to let him out of jail and impose a new period of probation.
Comm v. J.G. (2008) – J.G. is a minor who was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance (Misdemeanor Ungraded) and Drug Trafficking (Felony Ungraded). As a juvenile, it was unlikely that J.G. would go to jail, but a record of these charges could have a significant impact on his future.
Result: After reviewing the police reports, we realized that J.G. had been improperly charged (which is not uncommon) with the felony offense. Following negotiations with the Commonwealth, the felony offense was withdrawn and, so long as J.G. remains out of trouble for the next 5 years, his record will be fully expunged.
Comm v. N.S. (2007) – N.S. was charged with Kidnapping (Felony 1), Criminal Conspiracy (Felony 1) Unlawful Restraint (Misdemeanor 1), and Simple Assault (Misdemeanor 2). N.S. fell into a situation that I see often. Her boyfriend was the person who engaged in all the illegal activity, she just happened to be present at the time and did nothing about it. As there was a gun involved in the commission of the crime, N.S. was facing a mandatory 5 – 10 year minimum sentence.
Result: Not Guilty as to all charges following trial by jury.
Comm v. G.B. (2008) – G.B. was charged with Drug Trafficking (Felony Ungraded), Possession of a Controlled Substance (Misdemeanor Ungraded), Possession of Marijuana (Misdemeanor Ungraded), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Misdemeanor Ungraded). G.B. was made a decent plea offer by the Commonwealth as to the Drug Trafficking charge but was adamant as to her innocence. G.B. was in a precarious position in that she had to admit to possessing marijuana and paraphernalia and at the same time argue for a not guilty verdict as to the more serious charges. G.B. was facing a mandatory 1 – 2 year sentence if convicted.
Result: Not Guilty of Drug Trafficking or Possession following trial by jury.
Comm v. N.P. (2008) – N.P. was charged with Drug Trafficking (Felony Ungraded), Possession of a Controlled Substance (Misdemeanor Ungraded), and Criminal Conspiracy (Felony Ungraded).
Result: Case dismissed before magisterial district justice.
Comm v. A.S. (2010) – A.S. was charged with Persons Not to Possess a Firearm (Misdemeanor 1) and Carrying a Firearm Without a License (Felony 3). Because of his prior criminal record, A.S. was facing a standard range sentence starting at 5 years incarceration. A.S. was also dealing with a second criminal case at the same time involving drug trafficking charges. Even if we went to trial, A.S. would have to admit that everything alleged by the Commonwealth was true. Finally, the judge on the case refused to give the jury an instruction on “Justification”, which would have give A.S. his only chance to win the case. The only offer made by the Commonwealth for a sentence of 4 – 8 years incarceration. We knew that if the jury followed the law, it would return verdicts of guilty on the charges, but it was important for A.S. to explain the circumstances of the case to help with sentencing.
Result: As expected, the jury returned verdicts of guilty on both charges. However, the judge consolidated both cases and entered a consolidated verdict of 1 – 2 years incarceration with permission to serve the sentence at an alternative housing facility (halfway house). This was a significant reduction in sentence and we believe it was given as a result of the Defendant’s testimony presented at trial and to avoid a defense appeal on the issue of justification.
Comm v. N.W. (2009) – N.W. was charged with Robbery of a Motor Vehicle (Felony 1), Receiving Stolen Property (Felony 3), DUI (Misdemeanor Ungraded) and Driving Without a License (Summary). N.W. was accused of committing the offense with a firearm which mandated an automatic 5 – 10 year prison sentence if convicted. N.W. admitted that he was guilty of the DUI and Driving Without a License but went to trial on the felony charges.
Result: Not Guilty of all felony charges following trial by jury. |
