Bail bondsman might supervise local armed robbery suspect while released on bail

BY JAMES LOEWENSTEIN (STAFF WRITER)
Published: February 4, 2010

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WYSOX - A Meshoppen teenager accused of using a shotgun to rob the Dandy Mini Mart in Wyalusing last month may get his bail reduced, but only if the judge gets authorization to place him on electronic monitoring that would be supervised by a bail bondsman.

In an interview, Bradford County District Attorney Daniel Barrett said he knows of no other court case in Bradford County where a judge placed a defendant on electronic monitoring that was supervised by a bail bondsman.

The teenager, 16-year-old Jordon Garrett Brown of Mehoopany RR1, is currently incarcerated at the Bradford County Correctional Facility in lieu of $60,000 bail.

At a bail hearing on Wednesday, Brown's attorney, Scott Pellinger, asked that Brown's bail be reduced to "around $20,000."

Otherwise, Brown's family "probably could not afford to go to a bail bondsman," Pellinger said.

Brown's father, Gary Brown, testified at the hearing that he had retired from Proctor & Gamble in 1999 and was laid off from his job at the Kane warehouse in Mehoopany in December.

Brown's mother, Julie Ryan, testified that she was unemployed and had been collecting disability payments since 2003 for numerous health problems.

Wheaton said he would agree to reduce Brown's bail to $30,000, but only if he is placed on electronic monitoring until his trial is concluded.

When Assistant District Attorney Francis Rineer told the judge that it would not be possible for Brown to be placed on electronic monitoring through the Bradford County Probation Department, Wheaton said he wanted to have Towanda bail bondsman Roger Brown supervise Jordon Brown while on electronic monitoring.

Barrett said after the hearing that there is currently no program run by the county to have defendants placed on electronic monitoring while they are released on bail.

While the Bradford County Probation Department, which is a department of the county government, does have an electronic monitoring program that uses ankle bracelets, it is currently only used for offenders after they have been sentenced for a crime, he said.

Wheaton said he will check with President Judge Jeffrey Smith of the Bradford County Court of Common Pleas to find out if it would be acceptable to place Jordon Brown on electronic monitoring under Roger Brown's supervision. Wheaton said he will continue the hearing when he gets an answer from Smith.

Jordon Brown, along with 15-year-old Robert Thomas Phillips of Laceyville RR1, are accused of using shotguns on Jan. 7 to commit a robbery at the Dandy Mini Mart. The two were later apprehended and charged following a state police investigation.

Phillips and Jordon Brown have been charged with robbery and criminal conspiracy to commit robberies, both first degree felonies. The two are also facing charges of terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person, and theft by unlawful taking or disposition.

Both Phillips and Jordon Brown are being charged as adults by the state police because of the severity of the crime and the fact deadly weapons were used to commit the crime.

However, Phillips' attorney, Arthur Agnellino of Athens, informed Judge Wheaton during Phillips' bail reduction hearing that he intends to file a decertification petition with Bradford County Court which - if approved - would transfer Phillips' case to juvenile court.

At Wednesday's bail hearing, Pellinger did not raise the issue of filing a decertification petition on behalf of Jordon Brown.

Jordon Brown's preliminary hearing, which has been postponed a number of times due to scheduling conflicts, was also scheduled to take place on Wednesday in Wysox District Court. However, due to a death in the family of a state trooper who had investigated the case, the preliminary hearing will be postponed again, the judge said.

No date for the preliminary hearing has been set yet.

At Phillips' bail hearing, which took place on Jan. 13, Wheaton had reduced Phillips' bail from $60,000 to $30,000, contingent on him being placed on electronic monitoring by the Bradford County Probation Department.

Phillips has since been released on $60,000 bail, the district attorney said.

In a telephone interview, Roger Brown said he is not related to Jordon Brown.

He said the phenomenon of bail bondsmen providing electronic monitoring is a recent service, which began about three years ago in Colorado.

"It's happening all over the country" now, he said.

James Loewenstein can be reached at (570) 265-1633; or e-mail: jloewenstein@thedailyreview.com.

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loco; If I was going to correct your grammar, I would have started with "tooting" instead of 'toting'. Lynch mobs may contain some bright people, but do you know how to compute the I.Q. of a mob? You do it by taking the lowest I.Q. present in the group and divide it by the number of people present. No offence taken, and I agree that with regard to crimes by children, that we are all in this together.

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scottie, 02/08/10 2:58

Scottie - sorry if I offended you, I never professed to be very smart but EVEN I knew about the technological advances, but I am remiss for not thanking Amanda.... I would have expected you to correct "some total" with "sum total"!! Clearly you are not the only one to mention a noose/rope in these reports. I stand by my reference to their I.Q. not always being a controlling factor in ones behavior. I simply combined advocating everyone carrying guns, pointing to vagueness of the law, weighing in on the young/old application and dealing with this whole matter as having more to do with ones experiences then smarts. In general exposure to, cultural and societal difference or indifference can influence us, including our morality and our deciding right from wrong regardless of I.Q. Our laws try to force behavior by the threat of man's punishment or consequence. I suspect "lynch mobs" may contain some very bright people, meaning well and trying to deter crime. We find that crimes are occasionally committed by people with superior intellect, even "HAVING IT ALL" as we say....I suspect this judge tries to considers all those things and more as he tries to effect changes in defendants.... I ask how do we make our world a better place? History indicates to me that only God and nature can bring us to our knees, lately, I believe, we seem to deny both way too often. AS I said before there but for the grace of God go I, rather than "if the fhoe #hits wear it" that's easy until the #hit lands on us....Let's try not bicker, we are all in this together.

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loco lady, 02/08/10 5:58

loco lady; My I.Q. comment was made for the person who suggested a noose hanging downtown to deter crime. To suggest such a scenario, to me, indicates low intelligence on the part of the person presenting the idea. I suggested months ago that you change your handle from local lady to loco lady. You don't need to continue to prove I was right.

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scottie, 02/07/10 7:34

A noose, all tooting guns, vague laws, young or old that all has to do with behavior not I.Q.!!! We are the some total of our experience and we have all had different ones and/or lack of them. Stay within the basic rules society and the legislature have imposed "NO PROBLEM". I didn't vote for Wheaton - the first time, but I'm sure he is not one of the cronies/crowknees and support what he was trying to do. He can't and shouldn't treat all persons the same, maybe a judge should have more or better options with bail. I'm sure this will all workout for the best, just think of this: There but for the grace of God go I --- what a sobering thought it has often been for me.

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loco lady, 02/07/10 9:11

There are a lot of points raised here, in the country we live in WE are all innocent till proven guilty in a court of law.The laws that govern us until that time are very vague.If its the cheaper way out then so be it[as a tax payer i can say that].We as a jury of peers need to look at the facts here.Crowknee or not the Judge still needs the ok to do this. Would i want this to happen to my kid or anybody elses NO.{IF I PASSED THEM ON THE STREET IT WOULDNT BE GOOD MOMENT}I should only hope the D.A.reads a lot the comments here before a descion is made.I personally want to see the heavier hand the law come down on these punks.I guess problems like this is why we all should carry a handgun then everybody is equal Parents really need to step it up here being proactive solves a lot

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Shilo, 02/06/10 7:14

Amanda; Thanks for an eye-opener. I wasn't aware of the technological advances in monitoring that are now available, and I bet many taxpayers weren't either. Save taxpayer money - create jobs at the same time; sounds like a win-win scenario. Or, hang a noose downtown with a sign. Two choices. Let your I.Q. be your guide.

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Scottie, 02/06/10 6:41

Amanda, truth is Bradford County has had electronic monitoring for years and was one of the first smaller, rural counties in the state to implement such a program.

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Yarborough, 02/06/10 5:12

You know who is making the money here, Funny Thought? Roger Brown. He would make money, as he usually does, off the bail and then he would receive extra for the use of his equipment.

Brown already has had a meeting with the District Justices to extoll the virtures of his equipment. I'm sure he will try to sell the DA and the Common Pleas judges, which includes his good friend Jeff Smith, on making a local rule to use the device. You want to make a bet on that not happening? More money for good 'ol Roger!

The bail on these two would have been higher had they been adults so they already got a break. The "he being picked on because he's poor" argument doesn't hold water. If he wants to act like a big, bada** and use a shotgun to terrorize another person he needs to know he gets no special breaks. If the other kid got the money to make bail that's his good luck. If you do not want worry about making bail then do not commit the crime!

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ThomasPaine, 02/06/10 4:27

An education of electronic monitoring devices may be in order for the citizens of Bradford County, see shadowtrack.com. A short time ago people would think you were nuts to ask, "where are you" when you answered the phone. In an even shorter time they will know before they call just by checking the GPS in your phone... Times are a changin' folks. The average cost of monitoring devices is $10 to $20 a day, average cost of keeping a person in jail in Pennsylvania is $68 to $84, not rocket science people.
Electronic monitoring can be programed to track a persons movements with "red zone" warnings, voice commands and alcohol detection. A person on bail is free to do as he wishes, wherever he wishes, with whom he wishes. The person who has the electronic monitoring device is responsible for the cost, as he is for the bail cost. If the County was on the forward curve of this technology it could save some money and create a job or two by starting a department of "electronic monitoring" operated by the County instead of by the private sector. Where are you Bradford County?

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Amanda B. Hurd, 02/06/10 12:23

hang a rope in town, with a sign you will hang if you commit a crime with a gun , no matter if you ara under 18 or over. watch the level of gun crimes drop

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joey bagga donuts, 02/06/10 9:14

Wow folks! Let's think this through! We have two different issues here. One person that CAN make bail and ONE that can't. Are the two children different? In any way? They are both teenagers (UUUUGGGHHH) and they both committed a crime.Do you realize that ONE of them has made bail, and he is OUT, and WE have no idea where he is, or what he is doing?
But- let's argue over the ONE who is STILL in jail- he hasn't made bail, and he has been offered a reduced bail with a monitor. A monitor that will allow the county to track his EVERY MOVEMENT. Wouldn't that be TERRIBLE- if everyone could know exactly where he was, and when- WHAT A SHAME!!!
Let's think this through. We don't need teenagers in jail with adults- even if the crime is adult- it does not make THEM adult. I know that what they did was CRAZY- they could have killed another person, BUT they didn't! It sucks, but the truth is, if you want to make this better, you have to look at the ethics and immaturity of this situation.
These boys WERE wrong, and I don't agree with a thing that they did. I don't give them any points for their age or for their upbringing- but I do say that I would rather "track" a young offender, than put him in a prison with people that are not going to give him a choice about how his life will turn out. And, how is it fair that because you CAN post the bail- you can go, if you can't then you stay? I see a judge giving a young man an option, that his family may be able to handle, and there is no help- no understanding- no support. But- if you have the MONEY- you can do what you want!
Well, it is all about money- right, BRADFORD COUNTY- go ahead, let that kid rot in jail-he can't afford the bail- we all know that he is worthless. Never mind that we have a number of programs that could help him (SAP, BLAST, NTC). What the heck do we know?
But- the other kid made bail- so I guess he's OK- Right? His family had the MONEY!!! Now, WE have no idea where he is. Huh? Why do I feel like I am complaining about the WRONG PROBLEM?

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funny thought, 02/05/10 10:01

Catch 22 anyone? Some would lock everyone up, easy to say if it's not your loved one. To harsh? The common pleas court may decide the two should be treated as juviniles soon anyway, then what? Judge Wheaton has done a good job in my book and I wouldn't want his job for love nor money.

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Ben There Before, 02/05/10 9:36

While I'm not questioning the seriousness of these crimes and would probably agree that these two should be tried as adults, I do question some of the comments on this board. For being so called adults, I see a lot of open mouth insert foot comments. Perhaps some of you should research the law and see just what is allowed and what is not. Some of you seem to know how to armchair quarterback quite well. I used to watch a lot of westerns as a kid on TV and wondered about those shows which had stories of lynch mobs running around. I no longer have to wonder...they are here in good old Bradford County. Anyone have a rope?

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George Bailey, 02/05/10 5:31

I think commentor Kevin has made a good point. The legal system will sort out the right thing to do about punishment, given the offense and other factors. People should keep the personal attacks on the defendant's families out of their comments here.

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Trying to be fair, 02/05/10 8:04

While it might be 'ignorant' of me to express my opinion, I don't really care how these two are monitored, or about their bail conditions. My concern is that they be tried as adults. Armed robbery is an adult crime, and they should be judged by what they did not by how old they were when they did it. I doubt that either one is a flight risk. Where are they going to go? Let them stay at home, monitored, no firearms in the house, no access to a vehicle. Require them to phone regularly from a land-line phone so caller ID can be checked. I think home monitoring could be done much cheaper than the cost of jail time. They'll be costing us that soon enough, but this is not a crime for which one would normally stay in the county jail.

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two cents worth, 02/05/10 8:02

as they say everyone is intitled to their opinion but to called people concerned about their and everyone elses well being ignorant takes alot of gull even coming for a "friend" of the accuse.... but to brag about putting agun in another human beings face is A Okay with you?? then so be it but all I know if I was the person working behind that counter that night I would fight to keep them where they belong.... and the Dandy Mini Mart should be right their behind him helping do so... right or wrong they should do the time for what they did and give the gentleman who they threatened a little piece of mind for awhile regardless of them be "underage"

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far from ignorant, 02/05/10 4:57

These two "delinquents" are friends of mine and they didnt seem like the type of kids to do this so for all of you to say what horrible people they are you can jump on a stick besides they should do the time required for the offense but to sit and slander them for following the wrong path makes all of you more then just hypocrits it makes you ignorant as well

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Kevin, 02/04/10 10:11

We all do stupid things when we're kids and teenagers, but I dont ever remember loading a gun and robbing a mini mart.
I agree with all of you that want these punks to get what they deserve, and bail doesnt need to be an option, let them sit in jail and wait for their sentance.
Bring the young man into court that was working at the Dandy that night, lets ask him if he wants to pass one of these punks on the street while they're out on bail. Probably not, would you? Pretty61, I bet you wouldn't be sympathetic with the parents of these children if you were the one working in the store that night.

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Thoughts, 02/04/10 8:17

I didn't think the crowknees had gotten to the other judges but this has got me wondering. Take from the less fortunate, build a kingdom and hand the tax payers the maintenance bill.

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down trodden, 02/04/10 6:40

I think the main purpose of bail is to make sure the defendant shows up. Wheaton wouldn't reduce Philips bail without a monitor so Brown's bail bond pockets 6 grand and the kids out, with little supervision. It costs about 60.00 a day or more to keep one kid in jail, and we are nearly full again. A county monitor is less than 10 bucks for 24hour servailence, somebody besides Judge Weaton needs to think outside the box.

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A.O., 02/04/10 5:35