Courts Roundup: Hearing Held for Man Who Had Gun in Back of Police Car

The following are from preliminary hearings held in front of District Judge Theodore Michaels in Phoenixville on April 28.

Drugs, Gun Charges for Man Pulled Over in East Pikeland

Charges: Possession of a firearm without a license, persons not to possess firearms, drug possession, possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia, possession with intent to deliver drug paraphernalia

East Pikeland Police Officer Patrick Ehmann testified last week in district court that Julian Brewer, 31, Pottstown, had a gun in his waistband while being transported to the police station after a traffic stop.

Brewer's prior felony prohibits him from owning a gun. He was sentenced to five to 10 years in jail for an aggravated assault felony charge in 1999.

Brewer was a passenger in a car that was stopped for having a rear tail light out on March 19 on Hares Hill Road, according to court documents. When Brewer was asked for identification, Ehmann said in his testimony, he produced an identification card after declining initially. After checking with the county, Ehmann found out Brewer had an active traffic warrant.

He called in Phoenixville police officers to assist. The officer he contacted indicated he was familiar with Brewer and that “Brewer had been dangerous with police in the past,” according to testimony.

Ehmann searched Brewer and found a bag with suspected marijuana and a plastic prescription pill bottle with the label removed, containing 50-55 white pills. Brewer later admitted these pills were Percocet.

Police placed Brewer in the back of a Phoenixville patrol car, as the East Pikeland car did not have a cage in the back. On the way to the East Pikeland police station, the criminal complaint states that Brewer admitted to the Phoenixville officer that he had a gun.

The officer pulled over approximately a mile from the station, according to testimony, and removed a .22-caliber revolver from Brewer’s waistband.

Once at the station, another search revealed $75 to $76 in cash and a multitude of plastic bags, of which 180 appeared to contain marijuana, Ehmann said. The other 55 were unused.

Though lab results were unavailable for the preliminary hearing, another test showed that the substance in the first bag found was marijuana. Brewer’s attorney said he’d admit that the white pills were Percocet in order to move along with the preliminary hearing. The county had asked for a continuance pending lab results.

Brewer is scheduled for a formal arraignment May 12.

Police: Man Tried Stealing from Crash Carts at Phoenixville Hospital

Charges: Two counts of misdemeanor theft, two counts of receiving stolen property, criminal mischief

Clark King IV, 29, Coatesville, tried taking life-saving medication from crash carts from Phoenixville Hospital, according to testimony in district court.

On April 18 before 3:30 a.m., a nurse at the hospital observed King acting “strange” while she was caring for a patient he was with. The nurse said he wandered into the back hallway of the emergency room at Phoenixville Hospital, which isn’t open at that time of night.

She testified she heard a drawer close, and went to walk King back to where the patient was. She noticed a code cart, which contains what you’d need to save lives in a pinch, open, with seals broken. When she looked closer, the nurse saw two puncture holes in medication located within the code cart. She then went to remove a pediatric code cart from the room, but found a seal missing on that, as well, according to the criminal complaint.

Police arrived and spoke to King, who told Phoenixville Police Officer Thomas Goggin that he could do a search of the room, Goggin testified. In a purse, Goggin found two bottles identified by nurses as epinephrine, he testified. Later, a third bottle was found. A bottle of Narcan was found in a plastic sharps container in the room, Goggin said.

When questioned, King admitted to taking a bag of dopamine, though Goggin testified that King denied taking the other medications.

The charges were held for court, and King faces formal arraignment May 12.

King’s bail was initially placed at $10,000 with a 10 percent option, but his attorney asked if it could be lowered as King has children. Michaels lowered the bail to $5,000 with a 10 percent option.