Defense wrecked

CATAWISSA - Friday morning's hearing for a Shamokin tow truck operator accused of shouting obscenities at a competitor in September was unique.

Following two hours of testimony by nine witnesses - including the victim, a magisterial district judge and the defendant's longtime girlfriend, Alfons Keefer, 45, of 713 Bear Valley Ave., was found guilty of a summary offense of harassment by Magisterial District Judge Craig Long.

The charge was filed by Coal Township Deputy Chief Chris Williams in connection with a Sept. 12 disturbance at Race and Hunter streets in which Keefer is accused of shouting obscenities at Michael Garcia, of Shamokin, in an ongoing dispute over towing services in the community.

Williams and Coal Township Detective Jeff Brennan prosecuted the case, while Keefer, who did not testify, was represented by Attorney Timothy Bowers of Danville.

Asked for comment after the hearing, Bowers said, "We will discuss our options and proceed from there." Keefer can appeal Long's ruling to a higher court.

Williams and Brennan declined comment.

Keefer, owner-operator of A&G Towing, who plead not guilty, paid his fine and costs, totaling $234.50, prior to the hearing. Long requires all defendants seeking hearings to pay their fines and costs in advance.

Long was assigned the case by Northumberland County court officials to avoid any potential conflict of interest with a Northumberland County judge conducting the hearing, since Keefer had filed a complaint in June against Magisterial District Judge John Gembic III of Shamokin with the state Judicial Conduct Board. Keefer claims Gembic has used his influence on the bench to support Anthracite Towing, and that his actions have unfairly left Keefer's towing operation with significantly less business.

Garcia is the chief operator of Anthracite Towing LLC, while Gembic is a shareholder in the business.

Police summoned

Gembic was among the witnesses to testify against Keefer.

Besides having a judge testify in another judge's courtroom, another odd twist occurred when Keefer's live-in girlfriend, Beth Barker, admitted Keefer used an obscenity toward Garcia. Barker also claimed the couple were in a hurry when the incident occurred because her mother was reportedly choking on food at her residence in Sheridan Courts, which is located across the street from Gembic's home on Pulaski Avenue.

After the hearing, Barker, who also testified that she has sued her boyfriend once or twice over the past 10 years, allegedly made a threatening remark aimed at Garcia's wife before leaving the judge's office. The accusation prompted Coal Township police to summon a Catawissa police officer to the office and take a statement from Garcia's wife.

The defense attorney made a motion to have the harassment charge dismissed against his client at the beginning of the hearing and after police presented their eight witnesses. But Long denied Bowers' request on both occasions, and ruled Keefer was guilty of harassment.

Bowers claimed the evidence was not legally sufficient to find Keefer guilty, and also argued that his client is protected under the U.S. Constitution to use obscenities without being cited. But the judge ruled otherwise after hearing Williams' closing argument that Keefer continued to engage in harassing behavior despite repeated warnings to desist by police.

Ranting, raving

Garcia, who was the first witness, said he was called to tow a vehicle from an accident on Sept. 12. After hauling the vehicle to Dave Avellino's Auto Body Shop on North Market Street in Shamokin, Garcia said he spotted Keefer and Barker following him in a truck. He said Keefer was driving the vehicle while his girlfriend was videotaping Garcia. He said Keefer and Barker were both shouting vulgarities at him. He said an unidentified female also was a passenger in the truck.

As Garcia drove his flat-bed tow truck to the intersection of Race and Hunter streets, the witness said Keefer began shouting obscenities at him because he couldn't get around his tow truck at the heavily congested, narrow intersection. "He was yelling at me to get out of the way," Garcia said. "He was screaming, ranting and raving."

Garcia, who claimed Keefer had threatened him in the past regarding towing service competition, said he became frantic when Keefer got "right on his tail" and continued to yell obscenities at him. Garcia said he then called Gembic, who told him to call police and drive to his lot on Pulaski Avenue.

Garcia said Keefer had threatened to kill him, beat him up and put him in jail for illegally towing vehicles. He said the harassment had taken place every four or five days over a five-month period prior to the Sept. 12 incident.

Gembic said he was repairing a heating system at his banquet hall, near his Pulaski Avenue lot on Sherman Street, when he received Garcia's call. As he walked outside the banquet hall, Gembic said he heard a truck come up the street and spotted Barker make an obscene gesture toward him. He said the truck, which was driven by Keefer, then accelerated on Pulaski Avenue and pulled in front of Sheridan Courts before leaving the area.

Gembic said Garcia was upset about the incident and was "shaking" when he arrived at Gembic's lot. Gembic cited other instances when Keefer allegedly harassed the judge and Garcia.

Also testifying for the prosecution were Jesse James, Susan Waraksa, William Stump Jr., Coal Township Police Chief William Carpenter, Coal Township Patrolman Joshua Wynn and Shamokin Patrolman Jared Scandle.

James, who resides on Race Street, testified that he heard Keefer shout an obscenity at Garcia and tell him to get out of the way at Race and Hunter streets.

Waraksa, who also lives on Race Street, said she heard yelling and a lot of cursing coming from a pickup truck behind Garcia's tow truck.

Stump, who was standing on the corner, said he saw the tow truck stopped in the middle of the street with Garcia talking on his cell phone. Stump said he heard Keefer yell an obscenity at Garcia.

Carpenter said there has been tension between Keefer, Garcia and Gembic over towing service operations in the township for several months. He cited one incident on May 8 in which Keefer was upset about not getting a tow job in the township. The police chief said Keefer called his home and began threatening Garcia and calling him vulgar names after Anthracite Towing was summoned to tow a vehicle that he claimed should have been his call.

Carpenter said he told Keefer to calm down, which he eventually did. But he noted Keefer then came to Coal Township Police Station a couple days later and was still upset about the tow call. The chief said he told Keefer to control himself and that police weren't going to tolerate his unruly behavior.

"I was hoping this would blow over, but there's been a lot of tension since then," he said.

Wynn testified about the May 8 tow incident in which he directed Anthracite Towing to be called instead of A&G Towing because Keefer's girlfriend was familiar with the owner of the vehicle that was found abandoned on Bear Valley Road. Since the vehicle was impounded for evidence, Wynn said he felt having Keefer tow it could be a conflict of interest and possibly hinder his investigation into the incident.

Wynn said he summoned Anthracite Towing because it was the next towing service on the township's rotating list.

When Garcia came to tow the damaged vehicle, Keefer, who was informed about the situation by Barker, stared at Garcia and started yelling that he was going to sue Gembic and the towing business. Noticing the tension, Wynn said he instructed Keefer to leave.

The officer described Keefer as being "loud, boisterous and extremely upset."

Scandle testified about a June 25 towing call at Water and Market streets in Shamokin. The patrolman said he initially requested Anthracite Towing. He said Keefer then arrived at the scene in his personal vehicle and asked him if he wanted him to tow the vehicle. After waiting a while when no one from Anthracite Towing responded to the scene, Scandle told Keefer to get his tow truck. In the meantime, Gembic and Garcia arrived, which prompted Keefer to become upset when he returned. Scandle eventually summoned backup in fear the incident was going to escalate, but said Keefer left the scene without further incident.

Barker was the only witness called by the defense.

She admitted to taking photographs and video of Gembic and Garcia towing vehicles to support the complaint filed by Keefer with the state Judicial Conduct Board against the judge.

Regarding the Sept. 12 incident, Barker testified she saw Garcia unloading a vehicle on Market Street in Shamokin when she received a call from her mother that she had something lodged in her esophagus. In addition to herself, she said the truck she was riding in contained Keefer, who was driving, her daughter, Jessica, and Keefer's son, Kevin.

Barker claimed her family was in a hurry to help her mother. She recalled telling Keefer not to follow Garcia because it would slow them down, but the vehicles ended up meeting at Race and Hunter streets.

She said Garcia had the intersection blocked with his tow truck, and recalled her boyfriend calling Garcia an obscenity.

Under cross examination by Williams, Barker said she didn't call 911 for her mother because she didn't think the incident was an emergency. Barker said it was serious, but claimed her mother had experienced similar incidents in the past and was able to overcome the choking.

'Citizen of year'

At the conclusion of the hearing, Garcia provided a prepared written statement to The News-Item, which was the only media in attendance.

The statement reads: "A certain TV news station treats Keefer like he is a candidate for citizen of the year. In fact, published reports show that he ignores the law. He is being investigated by DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) for mining violations. He was listed for almost every one of his properties' taxes that were not paid. He has harassed my family to the point where my four young children are in fear of their lives and are afraid to come out to the front of our home to play. We just want Al Keefer and his friend, Beth Barker, to leave our family alone."

His reference to a TV news station regards a report WBRE did about Keefer's Judicial Conduct Board complaint against Gembic.

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