Derry man found not guilty of resisting arrest

A Derry Borough man who has been in jail for more than a year after he was charged with resisting arrest last summer was found not guilty on Tuesday.

Justin J. Jones, 38, was acquitted by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani of misdemeanor and summary counts following a nonjury trial.

Jones was charged after police said he became violent and pushed one officer to the ground as state police troopers attempted to serve a mental health warrant on July 18, 2022, authorities contended.

Jones denied the allegations and before the trial rejected a deal with prosecutors to plead no contest to the resisting arrest charge and be sentenced to the time he has already spent in jail.

Defense attorney Brian Aston argued that Jones suffered from traumatic brain injury that resulted from a 2019 vehicle crash and that his client’s actions to resist being taken into custody was a “deminimis infraction.”

Pennsylvania police trooper Luke Hanko testified Jones became unruly after he was handcuffed in the kitchen of the home he shared with his mother. Jones appeared to suffer a seizure-like episode during the arrest, Hanko said.

Hanko testified he was did not believe Jones’ actions warranted the filing of criminal charges, but was overruled by his supervisor, who was also present during the serving of the mental health warrant.

Retired Cpl. Rebecca Fabich testified Jones had a history of resisting arrest.

“We had to use force on him to get him on the ground and out of the house to get him to safety,” Fabich testified.

The judge, in issuing the verdict, said the evidence against Jones did not support the criminal charges.

Despite the acquittal, Jones will remain in custody as he awaits a ruling from the state parole board, which issued the detainer that has kept him in jail. Jones, according to court records, was convicted of multiple offenses dating back to 2003 including a drunk driving case from Blair County in 2018 and fleeing from police in Westmoreland County in 2020.