Police can’t locate victim in W. Deer intimidation case

A preliminary hearing for a West Deer couple charged with ethnic intimidation in the alleged beating of a Hispanic man was postponed Wednesday to give police two more weeks to find their victim, who is believed to have given officers a false name when making his complaint.

Last week police charged George Palmer and Hope Gorham with ethnic intimidation and other offenses, accusing them of luring a man from a bar to their home. There, he said he was attacked by four men with swastika and anarchy tattoos who yelled racial epithets at him and hit him with a wrench.

But days after the attack was reported, police ran into trouble tracking down their victim, who gave the name of Marcus Pope.

Patrick Nightingale, Palmer’s attorney, said the prosecution Wednesday afternoon requested a postponement of the preliminary hearing before West Deer District Judge Tom Swan to allow investigators time to find their victim. Mr. Nightingale said police had determined that the alleged victim was actually someone else and was wanted under his real name by the authorities.

Mr. Nightingale said he thought the criminal case might be unraveling. “Whatever happened, it was not two people luring this guy, a stranger, from a bar so a bunch of Nazi skinheads could jump him. That did not happen,” he said. “I have serious questions and concerns that anything this victim told police was accurate or reliable.”

Last week West Deer police Chief Jonathan Lape acknowledged that his investigators had run into some issues with their victim but he remained steadfast that an assault had indeed occurred, whatever the victim’s name was.

“The assault did occur. We know that actually happened because there’s evidence that points to that,” Chief Lape said then. “Evidence that we have shows there was an assault that happened.The victim did get beat up and assaulted.”

Palmer, 32, and Ms. Gorham, 31, both of 5 Oak St., had been held in the Allegheny County Jail on $250,000 bonds. District Judge Swan lowered the bond for Palmer to $50,000 straight, but he remains in jail on a state parole detainer. Ms. Gorham’s bond was reduced to non-monetary. The new preliminary hearing for the couple is set for 1 p.m. May 31.