19-year-old accused of fatally shooting stepfather on June 10
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Deviane J. Scott, 19, was held for trial on all charges, including first-degree murder, at his preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
A Caln Township teen was held for trial on Wednesday on all charges, including the first-degree murder of his stepfather on June 10.
At the preliminary hearing for Deviane J. Scott, 19, accused of fatally shooting 36-year-old Joseph Durham, Magisterial District Judge Jeffrey J. Valocchi ruled that sufficient evidence was presented to advance the case to Common Pleas Court. He said he based his decision on evidence that Scott suffered no injuries and that Durham was shot five times, including once in the back.
Scott’s attorney, Shaka M. Johnson, had argued that the testimony did not substantiate the charges of first- or third-degree murder. “Can we glean premeditation from a naked boy who says to his friend: ‘I think I shot him?’” Johnson asked.
Johnson was referencing the testimony of Matt Steen, one of four witnesses called by Assistant District Attorney Max O’Keefe. Steen testified that his friend Scott was “buck naked” the evening of June 10, that he provided him with some clothes, and that Scott said: “I think I might have shot him.” Asked how Steen knew who was shot, Steen said: “He [Scott] made it clear it was his stepfather.”
Caln Township Police Sgt. Chris Sambuco testified that he was dispatched to 3 Thorndale Place for a domestic physical altercation at 10:29 p.m. on June 10. He said that he met the caller, Michele Durham, a short distance from the residence. Sambuco said Michele Durham told him “her husband and her son were upstairs fighting” and “she assured me there were no weapons inside the residence.”
Sambuco said he “could see blood splatters along the wall leading up to the second floor” and five to six shots into the wall. He said police thought both men were still in the residence, but only Joseph Durham responded to the request to come out with his hands up, declining and stating that his son was responsible for his injuries and “had fled the residence.”
Chester County Detective James Ciliberto testified that he was called to the scene about 1:30 a.m. on June 11 and that he spoke with Michele Durham, who said she headed to the police station in her car with her two younger children after the fight started because her cell phone was dead. She plugged the phone into her car charger and was able to connect with 9-1-1 before arriving at the station, Ciliberto said. She was instructed to return to the house, where she met police, he said.
Under cross-examination, Ciliberto said Michele Durham said she did not believe her husband had guns, but investigators “found firearms in the residence.”
Caln Township Police Criminal Investigator James Lippolis testified about another discovery: two plastic baggies with a substance that field-tested positive for marijuana and $3,001 in the glove compartment of Scott’s black BMW during the execution of a search warrant.
Johnson argued that the testimony did not support all of the charges. “The gravamen of this issue is the defendant’s mindset,” Johnson said. “We’ve heard no testimony about who the aggressor may or may not have been.” He suggested that Scott, who is “probably not even 200 pounds” and exited the home naked, could have been threatened by his 6-foot-4, 300-pound-plus stepfather, negating premeditation. Scott’s criminal complaint describes him as 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds.
O’Keefe countered that premeditation can occur in an instant, and the autopsy report, which listed five separate shots, including one “bullet from behind,” indicated that Scott was the aggressor.
After the hearing, O’Keefe said he could not comment on the reason that the commonwealth withdrew one charge against Scott: possession with the intent to deliver.
Johnson, who called the case against his client “thin,” said he planned to file a motion to obtain bail for his client within the next day or two. He questioned the fact that Michele Durham, who did not attend the hearing, told police her husband didn’t have weapons in the home, and he wondered whether she felt pressure to take sides in the case. He said police found money in Scott’s car because he had just received graduation gifts and was planning to leave the next day for “Senior Week” in Ocean City, Md.
