A preliminary hearing for the man accused of attacking a Schuylkill County business owner last week was continued Monday to a later date.
However, the court proceedings on Monday for Jonathan Schramm, 27, were not uneventful.
The Schuylkill County District Attorney’s Office now says it’s adding a felony charge of aggravated assault to Schramm’s list of offenses.
On Monday, Schramm was clearly unhappy with his legal representation from the Schuylkill County Public Defenders Office because he attempted to raise defenses that did not apply and at an inappropriate stage of the proceedings. His remarks inside the lobby of District Court in Pottsville were clearly audible.
Schramm was insisting that he was standing his ground when he allegedly fought with a Mount Carbon business owner inside the business owner’s office on the morning of July 10.
Police say Schramm punched the business owner in the head multiple times during an altercation. Schramm reportedly came to the business office after being dismissed from a job site by his foreman for not working.
The business owner allegedly responded after being punched by grabbing an unloaded AR-15 he keeps in his office. Schramm allegedly tried to grab the gun from him and it fell to the ground. The business owner told police he then picked his gun up off the ground and loaded it, which caused Schramm to leave.
When his court-appointed attorney told him Monday that a stand-your-ground defense does not apply in this case, Schramm was unhappy with that and his voice raised, insisting he did not want that legal representation any longer.
When Magisterial District Judge James Reiley asked Schramm if he wanted to proceed at his preliminary hearing Monday without an attorney or seek a continuance, he opted for a continuance.
Reiley reminded Schramm that at his arraignment last week, “I promised you I would get you a hearing as expeditiously as possible.”
When Schramm tried to claim that he has a right to a new attorney, Reiley told him he does not have the right to choose an attorney from the Public Defenders Office, that he must take the one assigned to him.
“Not her. Not this lawyer,” Schramm told Reiley. “I don’t want her.”
Instead, he opted for a continuance.
At Monday’s hearing it would have been possible to have his bail reduced to unsecured, which would have possibly allowed him to be released from Schuylkill County Prison. However, a detainer on his record prevented his release. An arrest on criminal charges is a violation of his ongoing probation, so he’s to remain in jail.
Before Reiley dismissed court, Schramm said that he wanted his property returned to him by the business owner, namely a Stiletto hammer.
“I need my property back,” he said.
He also attempted to file for discovery, which can’t be done at, or before in this case, a preliminary hearing.
Schramm said he wanted to file for discovery to prove “police brutality” and “medical malpractice.”
In addition to the aggravated assault charge, Schramm is also facing charges of simple assault, a misdemeanor, and summary offenses of harassment and disorderly conduct.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
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