Charges dismissed against Greene County men accused of kidnapping woman
WAYNESBURG – Kidnapping and assault charges against two Greene County men were dismissed Friday afternoon when the accuser did not attend their preliminary hearing to testify against them.
Joseph James Dean II, 30, of 1579 E. Roy Furman Highway, Carmichaels, and Demitrius Lemont Davis, 40, of 520 Mather St., Mather, appeared before District Judge Glenn Bates just after 3 p.m., after spending most of January in the Greene County jail on charges of aggravated assault, kidnapping, terroristic threats and simple assault.
A Jefferson Township woman, Chasity Forgen, accused the two men of attacking her, threatening to kill her and dump her body down an abandoned mine shaft, according to the criminal affidavit. She had told state police the men came to her Maple Street apartment early Jan. 4 and assaulted her.
According to court documents, Forgen told police that the men tied her hands and feet with electrical tape and put a rope around her neck. The criminal complaint said they held a knife to her back and threatened to strike her in the head with a hammer if she continued to struggle against them.
They then allegedly dragged Forgen out of the apartment and put her in the trunk of a car, state police said. She claimed she was able to escape, however, and run to a nearby house, the residents of which helped her remove the tape and rope. Police said Forgen had signs of “trauma” on her wrists, legs and neck. Her apartment had also been ransacked.
State police Trooper Joseph Popielarcheck said Friday that Forgen was aware of the preliminary hearing. He said he wasn’t sure why she wasn’t there.
Dean’s public defender, Harry Cancelmi, and Davis’ attorney, Ben Goodwin, asked for the charges to be dismissed. Because the victim was not present to testify, Bates agreed to dismiss all of the charges.
Popielarcheck said that should the victim wish to refile the charges, that would be done through the Greene County district attorney’s office.