Protection from Abuse Petition
Recently, a Philadelphia firefighter came to see me concerning problems related to a PFA (protection from abuse petition). The firefighter had been served with a PFA and went to the hearing without a lawyer. He agreed to stay away from the woman for 18 months. The firefighter told me that he had a non-live-in relationship with the woman for about a year and he agreed to the PFA because he never wanted to see her again. He told me the woman was crazy and he thought this meant that any contact between the two of them would end.
I spoke to a police detective who told me that he had an arrest warrant for my client for making terroristic threats and for contempt of a PFA. The woman alleged that several nights previously he had knocked on her door in the middle of the night, called her on her cell phone, and threatened that he would kill her the next time he saw her. My client denied everything.
I surrendered my client to the police and then got him released on $10,000 bail.
As we were preparing for the preliminary hearing, the detective called me again and told me he had another warrant for my client concerning similar allegations. I surrendered my client on the new charges. This time his bail was increased to $50,000. I visited my client at CFCF because he was unable to immediately raise the 10% ($5,000) of the bail. Again, he denied everything.
It took several days to raise the bail, and when he was released, I immediately brought him into Central Detectives. It was explained to me by the detective that the phone calls were made from pay phones near the firehouse where he worked and that on both occasions he was seen by the female banging on her door.
I arranged with the detective for my client to be incarcerated at the district for the weekend. He checked in Friday at 4 PM. Early Sunday morning my client called me. The police had just released him. It turns out the woman called 911 at 2 a.m. that Sunday saying my client was in front of her house, screaming and banging on the door. The police arrested her and dropped both cases against my client.
The point? Think outside the box.
When you need legal help fighting a criminal charge, call 215-561-9188 to reach the law office of Patrick Artur in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In case of emergency, you can reach Patrick Artur personally by calling his cell phone at 215-915-6666.
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