Jury finds Leschinskie guilty of recording court proceeding; judge tosses 2 other charges

Albertson, who prosecuted his first criminal trial, said he was very pleased with the guilty verdict rendered by the jury on the charge of unlawful use of an audio or video device in court. In his opening statement to the court, Albertson accused Leschinskie of making a mockery of the criminal justice system by unlawfully recording a court proceeding.

O’Donnell and Leschinskie both declined comment after the trial.

Woelfel, who issued a gag order Monday for everyone involved in the case, lifted the order following the trial.

Testifying for the commonwealth were Northumberland County Detective Degg Stark, who filed the charges; Trooper Tyler Watson, Northumberland County Deputy Sheriff John Robbins and Northumberland Officer Rachel Shear. The defense presented no witnesses.

The charges relate to an incident on Jan. 4, 2019, in which Leschinskie is accused of using his cellphone to record a summary appeals hearing regarding a speeding offense before Northumberland County Judge Paige Rosini, who denied his appeal.

Stark testified that Leschinskie came to his office very excited and agitated following the summary appeals hearing and claimed he was assaulted by one or two members of the sheriff’s office, causing a shoulder injury. Stark said Leschinskie told him deputy sheriffs had taken his cellphone. The detective said he told Leschinskie to file a complaint with the sheriff’s office, but said he never did to the best of his knowledge.

Under cross examination by O’Donnell, Stark said there were no signs outside Rosini’s courtroom that indicated it was illegal to record a court proceeding. But the detective said there is a sign on the front doors of the courthouse warning everyone to shut off their electronic devices before entering the courtrooms.

Stark said he filed the charges against Leschinskie based on surveillance cameras depicting the incident and interviews he conducted with multiple law enforcement officers, some of whom said they heard Watson’s voice on Leschinskie’s cellphone in the hallway outside Rosini’s courtroom shortly after the summary trial concluded.

Watson, who cited Leschinskie for speeding, which the defendant appealed at the summary trial, said nobody gave the defendant permission to record the trial. The witness said he heard his voice on Leschinskie’s cellphone for about five seconds or less, leading him to believe the defendant had recorded the summary trial.

Watson said Leschinskie stated, “The Superior Court is going to like hearing this.”

The trooper said Robbins attempted to take the defendant’s cellphone from him, which prompted Leschinskie to become agitated. Watson said Leschinskie started to yell before being escorted by law enforcement authorities back into the courtroom.

Robbins testified that he also heard Watson’s voice on Leschinskie’s cellphone while he was standing about two feet away, which prompted him to order Leschinskie back into the courtroom to see Rosini. The deputy sheriff said Leschinskie claimed he was talking into his phone when Robbins heard Watson’s voice. Robbins said Leschinskie appeared to be trying to delete something from his phone. Robbins said the defendant accused him of assault during a struggle when Robbins attempted to take his phone.

Robbins said Leschinskie was not under arrest and no search warrant was issued for his phone at the time of the incident.

Shear, who was in the courtroom for the summary trial, said Leschinskie was very disruptive at the end of the trial. The officer said she was shocked to hear Watson’s voice on Leschinskie’s cellphone. Shear said she blocked the elevator door from closing on the second floor of the courthouse not far from Rosini’s courtroom to prevent Leschinskie from leaving the building as Robbins and Watson stood near the defendant.

Shear said she assumed Watson’s voice was recorded from the summary trial. She said Leschinskie initially denied recording the legal proceeding before claiming he didn’t know he couldn’t record it.

The commonwealth rested its case at 1:45 p.m. Following closing arguments by both attorneys, the jury began deliberations at about 2:10 p.m. before rendering a verdict shortly before 3 p.m.