Carbondale homicide suspect, codefendants to stand trial together, judge rules
Jul. 24—SCRANTON — The Lackawanna County Court jury that decides the fate of a Moosic man accused of fatally shooting another man in Carbondale last year will also hear evidence against three co-defendants, a judge ruled.
Judge Margaret Bisignani Moyle denied a motion to try the three individuals separately from Taaj Qaadir Blan after a hearing Monday.
Blan, 22, is scheduled to go on trial next week at the courthouse on first- and third-degree murder and other charges in the death of Pernell Simmons.
Prosecutors accuse Blan of using a 9 mm handgun to shoot Simmons, 35, multiple times from a vehicle in the parking lot of a Fallbrook Street apartment complex the night of Aug. 8.
The other defendants — Angelo C. Smith, 49; Margaret A. Del Castillo, 47, and Erica Lynn Searcy, 39 — face obstruction of justice, hindering apprehension and evidence tampering charges for their alleged actions after the shooting.
Investigators said Smith, of Carbondale, who is Blan's father, helped conceal the gun and arranged a ride for his son. Del Castillo, of Moosic, Blan's mother, was driving the car used in the shooting and had the clothes her son wore during the incident in the vehicle when she was stopped by police, according to a criminal complaint.
Blan was taken into custody when police pulled over a car driven by Searcy, also of Carbondale, investigators said. Police say the gun used to shoot Simmons was recovered from a backpack on the vehicle's back seat.
In arguing to sever the cases, attorney Terrence McDonald, who represents Smith, told Moyle the overwhelming amount of the evidence presented at trial would involve only the case against Blan.
Attorney Shane Scanlon, representing Del Castillo, pointed out some evidence such as autopsy photos would have no relevancy to the case against his client.
In denying the motion, Moyle said it is clear under state law all of the evidence in the homicide case is admissible against the co-defendants to allow the prosecution to establish the underlying crime.
She said she believed jurors would be capable of understanding the co-defendants were not present in the parking lot when the shooting took place and their involvement started hours later. The court could give cautionary instructions to the jury to that effect, she said.
Moyle told Blan's attorney, Robert Saurman, she would not rule on the admissibility of certain evidence unless and until the court knows whether the defendant will testify. It includes information about the victim's criminal history and other evidence that could be relevant to Blan's state of mind.
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