Two Greensburg Men Cleared of Aggravated Assault and Robbery Charges
Posted By
on Jun 28, 2011 11:48am PDT
By Bob Stiles
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, June 25, 2011
A Westmoreland County jury acquitted two men this week of assaulting another man on the Five Star Trail in Greensburg in November, defense attorneys said Friday.
The jury deliberated about two hours on Thursday before finding Richard Allen Derry, 20, and Jamie Fabiszewski, 21, both of Greensburg, not guilty of aggravated assault, robbery, theft and conspiracy offenses.
"I was confident from the beginning that Jamie was innocent," said defense attorney Anthony Bompiani, who represented Fabiszewski. "Justice was served."
"From the outset, I know Richard said he had no involvement with it," said attorney Jim Silvis, who represented Derry.
Joseph McBride told Greensburg police that the pair assaulted him the night of Nov. 5 on a trail bridge that crosses Mt. Pleasant Street, near Schaller's Bakery.
McBride testified during a preliminary hearing before Greensburg District Judge James Albert that the pair took $250, an iPod and a Blackberry from him, broke earphones he was using, and punched and stepped on his face several times.
Initially, McBride told police that Fabiszewski struck him first, according to a police report. At the preliminary hearing and trial, McBride said Derry punched him first, Silvis said.
Both defense attorneys said they believed their client's testimony during the trial helped convince the jury of their innocence.
Silvis said the area where the alleged assault occurred is unlit, and "it would be very difficult to positively identify anybody."
"The defendants' testimony that they had no involvement, I think, went a long way," he added.