Two of the four suspects in an alleged Pottsville armed robbery and home invasion appeared in District Court Monday. A third suspect turned himself in over the weekend and has been released on unsecured bail.
Joshua Brevett, 19, of Mahanoy City, appeared before Magisterial District Judge James Reiley for a preliminary hearing Monday on felony charges of robbery, burglary, theft, and conspiracy. He and three other suspects are alleged to have entered 512 N. Centre St. in Pottsville on May 7 and committed an armed robbery of the people living in an apartment there.
Brevett was arrested and arraigned before on-call Judge Anthony Kilker and had been held at Schuylkill County Prison with his bail denied. On Monday, per an agreement between the Schuylkill County District Attorney’s Office and Public Defenders Office, Reiley agreed to hold Brevett on 10% of $15,000 bail.
Originally, the legal sides had presented an agreement to Reiley for 10% of $5,000 bail but after a short time during Brevett’s preliminary hearing, Reiley said he wouldn’t agree to that and told Assistant District Attorney Andrew Bench and Public Defender Andrea Thompson to work out a new deal.
As Brevett spoke to Reiley during the hearing, he was barely audible and based on what was being said, he was drooling on the table in front of him. When he did speak, Brevett told the judge, “I keep moving from house to house in New Jersey and PA.”
However, Brevett did tell Reiley that he attends his ARD classes in Saint Clair and is serving probation after getting caught in school with a THC vape. It was later learned, when Brevett’s father appeared before the judge when the legal teams had come to new terms on bail, that the defendant had been staying with 17-year-old Julian Chapman, a fourth suspect in the armed robbery, so he could more easily get to his ARD appointments.
Chapman was already arraigned, held on $100,000 bail on similar charges, and released from Schuylkill County Prison after bail was posted. His scheduled preliminary hearing on Monday was continued.
Brevett’s father told Reiley that his son’s drooling was a result of him being epileptic, which was caused by a fall from a two-story building when he was a toddler in New Jersey.
Reiley ordered Brevett to stay every night going forward with his father in Mahanoy City. He also ordered evaluations for mental health and drug and alcohol treatment as well as telling him he had to report to Schuylkill County Adult Probation weekly.
Dmitri Arraigned
Although his hearing was not on the schedule and he was technically a fugitive, 18-year-old Coleby Dimitri, of Mount Carmel, another suspect in the case, showed up at Reiley’s court on Monday. When it was realized he was there, Pottsville Det. Joseph Krammes took him into custody in the lobby outside the courtroom.
At his arraignment, held moments after Brevett’s hearing, Dmitri heard the accusations against him read back by the judge. Dmitri is accused of holding a handgun to the face of one of the victims of the alleged robbery. At times, the gun allegedly touched the nose of a victim. He’s also accused of slamming a female victim onto a bed and then attempting to pull down her leggings.
“Do you have any idea how serious these charges are,” Reiley asked Dmitri.
“Yes, sir,” the defendant responded. He, like Brevett, was barely audible.
Bench told Reiley that the DA’s office is considering tacking on charges of attempted rape and indecent assault against Dmitri. The ADA asked Reiley to set Dmitri’s bail at $250,000. Krammes and Pottsville Patrolman Stephen Delinko added that Dmitri is well-known to officers over the years as a runaway juvenile and is often hard to find.
“He shows up when he wants to,” Delinko told Reiley. “He’s a hard person to track down. He’s all over the place.”
The judge eventually set bail at 10% of $25,000.
Sherwood Turns Himself In, Released
Soon after charges were filed against Kiyone Sherwood, 19, of Saint Clair (or New Philadelphia), on Friday, he turned himself in to authorities. He was arraigned on similar charges as Chapman, Brevett, and Dmitri.
Police say Sherwood was the getaway driver in the armed home invasion and a search of the vehicle used netted many of the items that were reported stolen from the Pottsville apartment his suspected accomplices had pillaged.
Sherwood was taken before Judge Stephen Bayer in Tamaqua on Friday night and released on $50,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing in his case is scheduled for May 25.
READ MORE:
Masked Teens Held Victims at Gunpoint in Pottsville Home Invasion, Police Say
Fourth Suspect Charged in Alleged Pottsville Armed Home Invasion
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