SUNBURY - Unbeknownst to county officials, Angel Colon was already incarcerated when his name was selected from a list of outstanding warrants to be featured on the Northumberland County Cost Collection Task Force's new "wanted" billboards, a fact quickly revealed when the sheriff's office posted the billboard artwork on its Facebook page Wednesday morning.
Not only that, it was determined Thursday Colon had already been incarcerated for five months when the county first issued a bench warrant for his arrest more than two years ago.
County officials couldn't produce a good explanation for the lack of knowledge about Colon's status Thursday, but they did have good news in that the crime for which he was jailed in New York wasn't murder as they had been told Wednesday.
It was attempted murder.
"Thank God no one is dead," Sheriff Robert Wolfe said Thursday.
On Wednesday, Prothonotary Justin Dunkelberger, who serves on the task force with Wolfe and two others, had lamented the county's failure to adequately track warrants had led to someone's death.
Meanwhile, the much-anticipated billboards, along Route 901 near Ranshaw and Route 54 in Natalie, were finished Thursday, a day behind schedule, by Stop N Go Signs, Shamokin Dam. But, at the county's direction, they only include two of the four names and faces originally intended because Colon and Donnie Carl Sr. are already in custody. A fifth silhouetted face remains blank as originally planned, reading, "This could be you," because the county hopes to persuade those wanted on warrants to turn themselves in.
Wrong Angel Colon
Colon, 36, formerly of Atlas, was already facing aggravated assault charges for a 2012 incident in Mount Carmel when he was arrested and imprisoned Feb. 27, 2013, for stabbing another individual. It's not known where he was originally jailed, but since March 27, 2015, he has been in Green Haven Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in the New York state system.
Arlene Hackel, deputy director of communications for the New York State United Judicial System, was researching the case for The News-Item Thursday, but hadn't provided any details by the end of the day.
Wolfe said Thursday that when officials called New York Wednesday after receiving information from the public that he was in custody there, they were told Colon was in jailed on a charge of second-degree murder. But a New York corrections official called Thursday and apologized for the mixup with another Angel Colon.
A search of the New York State inmate locator finds four inmates named "Angel Colon" currently incarcerated in the state.
"In New York, Angel Colon is as common of a name as Joe Smith," Wolfe said.
Colon's earliest date of release is Jan. 5, 2020, 13 months before his sentence ends.
Sgt. Dwayne Pidcoe, a Northumberland County deputy sheriff, said with extradition agreements in place, Colon will be picked up when his New York prison sentence ends to answer for his crimes in Northumberland County.
Bail reduction
Colon was one of four criminals selected by the Northumberland County Cost Collections Task Force to be placed on the billboard. All four are wanted for missing court proceedings on serious offenses.
He was charged Feb. 14, 2012, by Mount Carmel Borough Police Cpl. David Donkochik for a Jan. 23 altercation outside of Puff's Cigarette Outlet in the 100 block of South Oak Street.
According to News-Item archives, Colon allegedly assaulted Albert Lotis Jr. in front of the store. Police said at the time Lotis was seriously injured in the assault and required medical treatment at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.
Colon was charged with a felony count of aggravated assault, a misdemeanor count of simple assault and citations for harassment, disorderly conduct and driving with a suspended license. He was placed in Northumberland County Prison on $20,000 cash bail March 2, 2012.
The charges were held for county court following a preliminary hearing on March 7, 2012, and the case was continued.
On May 18, 2012, Colon's attorney, public defender Paige Rosini, filed a motion for a bail reduction, which was granted by then-President Judge Robert Sacavage. The order changed Colon's bail to $10,000 percentage bail.
Rosini sought dismissal of the charges Aug. 27, 2012, pursuant to Rule 600 of the Pennsylvania Code, which pertains to the time it takes to bring a defendant to trial. Sacavage did not order the charges dismissed, but gave Colon nominal bail, $1, Sept. 20, 2012, as a habeas corpus writ was being considered by the court.
It was during his release from custody that Colon was charged in the New York state stabbing.
Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the writ was denied July 11, 2013, and a status conference was scheduled for Aug. 1, 2013. When Colon didn't show, the bench warrant was issued.
'Bad dude' in custody
Bench warrants are issued by the court at the request of a county agency, either the DA's office when a person misses a court appearance, or other offices when costs are not paid.
Wolfe, who took office in January 2014, said there are about 1,000 open warrants in Northumberland County currently, and he hopes the billboard helps to curb the number. That's already occurred with Colon.
"We got information on this individual an hour after putting it up on Facebook," he said. "It's good to know this bad dude is in custody. I hope this will encourage others to check the page and give us more tips, and get other individuals off the street."
Dunkelberger, Wolfe, county chief adult probation officer Jim Cortelyou and Judge William H. Wiest are part of the task force. For his part, Wolfe said Thursday he's learning more about how to use online records to track criminals' status, including the Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System portal, a publicly accessible website that, with Carl's name plugged in, quickly provided his incarceration status.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the fugitives can contact the warrant line at 570-863-3503 or send tips through the Northumberland County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.