Former DA Suspended

A consent two-year suspension of the former District Attorney of Bedford County has been imposed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

The Altoona Mirror reported on the action

Childers-Potts resigned as that county’s district attorney on Feb. 10, 2023.

According to the court, Childers-Potts faced misconduct allegations for violating the Rules of Professional Conduct.

As outlined in the more than 40-page petition filed May 30 with the disciplinary board, the cases involve a suspected homicide, child rape, parole violation and narcotics.

In all cases, Childers-Potts failed to act in a timely manner, the disciplinary board concluded.

McCahan case

In the case of Commonwealth v Charles Victor McCahan, the Jan. 19, 2022, death of Ouita McCahan was investigated by the Saxton Borough Police Department. On May 5, 2022, a state police lab analysis showed a Y chromosome DNA from an unidentified person was found on the woman’s left hand fingernails. The state police lab report suggested that if a direct Y chromosome DNA comparison was needed, a blood sample or buccal swab sample should be submitted.

More than a month later, on June 17, 2022, Charles McCahan was arrested and charged with criminal homicide in his mother’s death. He was ineligible for bail due to the charges and was detained at the Bedford County Correctional Facility.

Court documents contend that despite receiving the May 5, 2022, lab report, Childers-Potts failed to request a DNA sample from Charles McCahan.

The Office of Attorney General took over the case in February 2023, and during an evidentiary hearing on Feb. 13, 2023, it was discovered that a buccal swab was taken just two weeks before and submitted for DNA analysis.

In addition, when questioned, Frederick James Chadwick III, Saxton police chief, said no direct evidence was found that pointed to McCahan as being the cause of his mother’s death.

On March 2, 2023, the lab report for McCahan’s buccal swab was received and showed his DNA did not match the DNA collected from his mother’s fingernails.

A few days later, McCahan, through counsel, sought dismissal of the case and all charges were dismissed May 17, 2023, 11 months after McCahan was arrested.

Harris case

In the case of Commonwealth v Brian Wilson Harris, state police filed a criminal complaint on April 29, 2021, accusing Harris of raping a child. That same day, state police obtained a warrant for his arrest.

About 10 months later, in February 2022, Harris was arrested. Court documents state that although Childers-Potts knew that 10 months passed between the filing of the complaint and Harris’ arrest, she failed to take active steps toward his prosecution and commencement of trial as required by law.

Two months after his arrest, on April 7, 2022, Childers-Potts filed a Criminal Information in the case, and on May 20, 2022, Harris, through counsel, filed for dismissal of his charges.

During an evidentiary hearing on July 26, 2022, the disciplinary board reported that Childers-Potts recognized April 29, 2021, as the beginning date for Harris case, with no excludable time in the intervening months.

When asked by the court if she was going to argue any dates or about due diligence, Childers-Potts answered “I don’t think there’s a legitimate argument to be made.”

Bedford County Judge Travis Livengood subsequently dismissed Harris’ charges and in a memorandum opinion, stated that Childers-Potts “chose not to argue the case, and stated that (the commonwealth) was ‘simply leaving it to the court’s discretion.’”

The opinion continued, stating that despite the delay in the case, dismissal was not inevitable. Childers-Potts could have immediately filed the criminal information after Harris’ preliminary hearing on Feb. 23, 2022, and asked to place the matter on for jury selection. The opinion also pointed out that there were eight unused trial dates that would have been available to try the case.

“As a result of the commonwealth’s lack of diligence, which violated (Harris’) constitutional right to a prompt trial, the charges must be dropped,” the opinion states.

Kinzey case

A third case cited by the disciplinary board involved a parole violation by Gordon Kinzey Jr., who pled guilty on April 26, 2016, to indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age and sexual intercourse with an animal.

Kinzey received a sentence of 3- to 6-years’ confinement, followed by five years’ probation. On April 19, 2022, Kinzey was arrested and detained in the Bedford jail for violating the terms of his probation.

The board said Childers-Potts failed to secure a hearing “as speedily as possible” regarding the probation violation.

According to an email on July 11, 2022, Childers-Potts admitted a petition was not filed as “we have not yet received the revocation packet from state parole. Once we receive it, we will file the petition.” When told Kinzey had been in the Bedford jail since his April arrest, Childers-Potts stated she would reach out to state parole regarding the matter.

On Aug. 18, 2022, Childers-Potts received another email inquiring about the unfiled revocation petition, stating that it has been four months since Kinzey was incarcerated.

Also on Aug. 18, 2022, a writ of habeas corpus was filed by Kinzey, through counsel. On Aug. 22, 2022, a hearing was conducted regarding the petition, and also on that date, Childers-Potts filed a motion to schedule the probation violation hearing, court documents state.

In the end, the court stated that the circumstances in the case violated any interpretation of the term “as speedily as possible” and Kinzey was released.

Crawley case

Another case cited by the board, Commonwealth v Tricia Ann Crawley, also involved a failure by Childers-Potts to file paperwork in a timely fashion. In that case, the disciplinary board said the necessary two-page motion to revoke Crawley’s parole would have taken the district attorney 15 minutes to draft, and could have been drafted by support staff.

Crawley, who pleaded guilty in June 2015 to drug-related charges, was indicted on Aug. 10, 2021, by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on charges of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. She pleaded guilty on Feb. 23, 2022, and was sentenced June 27, 2022, to 15 months in prison, followed by three years’ probation.

On July 6, 2022, she was detained in the Bedford jail for a probation violation, and on Sept. 30, 2022, filed, through counsel, a petition for writ of habeas corpus, after a hearing was not scheduled.

The suspension decision

In deciding on the two-year suspension of her law license, the board said Childers-Potts cooperated with the investigation and has had no history of discipline in more than 19 years as a member of the Pennsylvania Bar. She is also involved in her community and volunteers for charitable programs and fundraisers.

When Childers-Potts resigned as Bedford County district attorney in February 2023, she had been operating the DA’s office single-handedly after two assistant district attorneys resigned the previous year. Due to those resignations, she referred 36 criminal cases to the Attorney General’s Office.

In January 2023, after President Judge Travis Livingood accused Childers-Potts of being unprepared for trial in December 2022, she emailed the Mirror and reported that trial prep had been done. She also referenced staffing challenges and advised: “I am still the only attorney in the office and we are incredibly busy.

The Cumberland Times-News had a story about the Kinzey case

Investigation by police also found Kinzey had a horse fetish and revealed that two farmhands had witnessed him performing a sex act with a horse.

(Mike Frisch)