Schuylkill County District Attorney Christine A. Holman has won her first trial in that post as a jury convicted a Blythe Township man on Tuesday of leading police on a chase covering several miles in December 2012.
Justin M. Marx, 23, of Cumbola, is guilty of fleeing and eluding police, jurors decided after deliberating less than an hour.
Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin, who presided over the one-day trial, found Marx guilty of eight summary offenses: four counts of stop sign violation and one each of driving under suspension, reckless driving, careless driving and unsafe passing.
Dolbin ordered preparation of a presentence investigation and scheduled sentencing for April 1. He allowed Marx to remain free on $2,500 percentage bail.
"Justice has been served. One of the most important aspects of our society is our police force," an elated Holman, who prosecuted the case with First Assistant District Attorney Maria T. Casey, said after the verdict. "I think the jury was accurate."
Palo Alto police had charged Marx, who was driving a red Dodge pickup truck, with leading them on a chase beginning about 4:30 p.m. Dec. 4, 2012. The chase began on Bacon Street in the borough, continued into and through Port Carbon and into Cumbola on Route 209 and ended when Marx left the paved road and drove onto a dirt road, where he could not be followed without 4-wheel-drive vehicles, according to police.
"His current driver status ... was suspended" as of Dec. 4, 2012, Palo Alto police Officer Joseph J. Kavanaugh testified.
"Was he the driver of the vehicle?" Casey asked Kavanaugh.
"Yes, he was," Kavanaugh answered.
Kavanaugh said he put on his lights and siren, but Marx refused to stop and reached speeds of about 65 mph on Route 209. Marx also ran several stop signs and almost hit a minivan, which was forced to drive onto the shoulder to avoid him, according to Kavanaugh.
Port Carbon police Officer Joseph C. Ferraro testified he was talking with Kavanaugh when he saw Marx driving his truck and recognized him as having a suspended license.
"We were in a full-blown pursuit," Ferraro testified. "(Marx) had a pretty good lead on Mr. Kavanaugh."
Marx testified he was with his girlfriend at the time of the pursuit, not driving the truck.
Jeffrey M. Markosky, Mahanoy City, Marx's lawyer, said in his closing argument that several inconsistencies in the officers' stories should cause the jury to acquit his client.
"Our system requires the highest burden allowable in order to convict," he said.
However, jurors accepted Holman's closing argument, in which she said any problems with prosecution evidence did not go to the heart of the case, and the police have no reason to fabricate any evidence.
"None of the inconsistencies ... would have any bearing on the identification of the defendant," she said.
After the verdict, Casey, who also was trying her first case in her new office, praised Kavanaugh and Ferraro.
"We are very lucky to have the two officers ... safeguarding the citizens," she said. "They were a great asset to us in the case."Defendant: Justin M. Marx
Age: 23
Residence: Cumbola
Verdict: Guilty of fleeing and eluding police, four counts of stop sign violation and one each of driving under suspension, reckless driving, careless driving and unsafe passing