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| Man 'Lost' in Prison System Gets Hearing Years Late |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 02/10/2003 |
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A man arrested as a fugitive two years ago and charged with a murder that happened in 1997 made his first court appearance in the case January 24 because he was 'lost' in prison, a prosecutor said. Wilson 'Cool' Smith, 30, is charged with the murder of Jeffrey Allen Sease, who was killed by a stray bullet amid a gunfight on the streets of York. Three other men were arrested shortly after the shooting and charged in Sease's murder -- two were convicted and one was acquitted -- but Smith remained a fugitive on the York County books. His attorney, Frank C. Arcuri, will argue for the dismissal of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment charges, claiming the 28-month delay violates his client's rights to due process and a speedy trial. According to motions to dismiss filed by Arcuri in York County (Pa.) Common Pleas Court, Smith has been available to answer to the charges since January 2000 when he was picked up on the fugitive warrant by the FBI. Arcuri said New York authorities notified the York County District Attorney's Office and were told extradition proceedings would begin, but the paperwork never came from Pennsylvania. Smith eventually was released but ordered to remain in regular contact with the New York courts pending further communication with York County, according to Arcuri's petition. But prosecutors and Smith's attorney disagree on Smith's whereabouts during that period. 'When we called (New York authorities) they said, 'We got no Wilson Smith,'' Chief Deputy Prosecutor Bill Graff said. 'The problem was he was there under a different name. Then, once we straightened that out, they lost him.' According to Graff, his office began the extradition process a second time but New York authorities informed him that Smith was not in their custody. 'The truth is, he never left (prison),' Graff said. 'He was still there under a different name.' Smith wrote a letter in August to York County Judge John S. Kennedy asking him to set a hearing date for the pending homicide charge and he soon was transferred to York County Prison. Arcuri said a York County District Attorney's Office oversight caused the delay, which impairs Smith from being able 'to accurately account for his actions' at the time of the crime and hinders the defense from being able to locate witnesses. |
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