A Pottsville man was not happy Monday morning after he was found guilty of harassment over a dispute with his neighbor about a cup of red juice or water.
“The proof is in the pudding,” William Dougherty, 62, said prior to storming out of Magisterial District Judge James Reiley’s courtroom Monday. “The pudding is right there.”
After Reiley announced that he was guilty and ordered to pay a fine, Dougherty slapped a small stack of papers against a table and stared proverbial holes through Assistant District Attorney Andrew Bench and his accuser and neighbor, John Cruz.
Upon leaving the courtroom, Dougherty announced, “I’ll see you in court.”
Bench reminded Dougherty that they were in court.
“This is not to stand,” Dougherty continued in anger, indicating that he’ll appeal Reiley’s judgement to Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas.
Earlier in the morning, Bench agreed to drop a misdemeanor charge of making false reports to police against Dougherty. Instead, all sides agreed to have a summary trial on a harassment charge, which was held immediately.
During the trial, in which Dougherty represented himself, Cruz testified that he was standing outside his house on N. 12th St. in Pottsville on the morning of May 6, taking a 15-minute break from his stay-at-home job as a dispatcher.
In his hand, Cruz said he held a red Solo cup filled with water. Later, it was revealed the water was actually red, presumably from a flavor additive.
Cruz said he threw the remainder of his drink at a bee that had been pestering him. The water, he said, splashed against his window.
However, Dougherty tells the story differently. He said that Cruz threw the “juice” at him and that it landed on his grill. Dougherty insisted that it was juice and not water, as Cruz claimed.
While cross-examining Cruz, Dougherty also disputed the claim that his neighbor was throwing the drink at a bee. He said the flung drink was meant to hit him.
Dougherty claimed it was just 64 degrees that day.
“There wasn’t a whole bee in the state of Pennsylvania that day,” he said.
He then asked Cruz if he threatened him when he stepped outside at the time his neighbor was on break from work. Dougherty accused Cruz of saying, “Hey Bill, are you ready to fight?”
Dougherty didn’t like that Cruz denied saying that and got frustrated with the answers he was getting. He abruptly said, “I’m just going to stop this.”
Pottsville Police Cpl. Tina Sullivan testified that she was called to the scene of this neighbor dispute that morning. She said that upon speaking with Dougherty, who phoned police, that he wanted her to charge Cruz with aggravated assault or assault for throwing his drink at him.
Sullivan testified that she reviewed surveillance footage provided by Cruz and said that Dougherty wasn’t even visible outside when Cruz threw his drink. She said just prior to throwing the drink, Cruz appeared to be waving his hand as if trying to swat away a bee.
She did testify that she saw “a couple drops of a dry red liquid on Mr. Dougherty’s grill” while she was on the scene. After that, Sullivan said she cleared the incident at 11:55 a.m.
During Dougherty’s own testimony, he asked to approach Reiley to show what he believed was evidence of what he was saying was true, purportedly red liquid on his grill.
When asked to see the time stamp on the photo stored on his phone, it reportedly showed the photo was taken at 11:58 a.m., three minutes after Sullivan said she cleared the scene.
Prior to that, Dougherty said he was leaving his house just prior to this incident with his neighbor. He testified that Cruz said to him about being ready to fight.
Dougherty said he responded by saying, “What the (bleep) is your problem?!”
Shortly thereafter is when Cruz threw his drink at him, Dougherty added.
Dougherty accused Sullivan of lying and that while she was speaking with (actually, whispering to) Cruz, they each got “red in the face.”
“I’m saddened that this officer would lie,” he said. “Her timing is not correct.”
Monday’s developments may have to be repeated because there was a similar incident that occurred in May 2024. Reiley told Dougherty Monday that there was a warrant out for his arrest for not responding to the previous incident. Dougherty entered a not guilty plea.
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