This time the attorney is the defendant

Former ‘rising star’ county prosecutor to stand trial on shoplifting charges

Former rising star prosecutor Caitlin Erin Rice addressed the court as the defendant in a criminal case.

TREDYFFRIN » Attorney Caitlin Erin Rice returned to a Chester County courtroom for the first time in 2020 on Friday.

But this time, the former rising star prosecutor did not address the court as the attorney for the Commonwealth. Instead, she stood to the right of the bench as the defendant in a criminal case.

Rice was charged in January with a single misdemeanor count of retail theft for allegedly shoplifting more than $400 worth of merchandise from the Wegman’s supermarket in Malvern, putting an apparent end to her blooming career in Chester County. The items she stole were reportedly high-end, pricey bottles of wine.

Standing before Senior Magisterial District Judge William Kraut and accompanied by a prominent criminal defense attorney, William Brennan of Philadelphia, Rice agreed to waive her right to a preliminary hearing and have her case transferred to Common Pleas Court for disposition.

“I am sure you are aware of the purpose of this proceeding,” Kraut asked Rice, who stood stoically before the bench, dressed in a blue business pants suit. “Is this what you want to do?”

“Yes, your honor,” Rice replied.

In addition to ordering Rice not to have any further criminal conduct as part of her bail provisions, Kraut also told the former Chester County assistant district attorney not to enter the Wegman’s store where she was caught trying to leave with several items in a bag without paying for them.

Prior to the proceeding, at which Kraut asked the veteran attorney about her decision to forego the hearing and basic questions about her bail status, Brennan and Assistant Attorney General Christopher Phillips discussed the process of Rice applying for entry into the Attorney General’s Office’s pretrial diversionary program for first-time offenders.

If accepted into the ARD program, Rice could move to have her arrest expunged if she successfully completes its provisions.

Neither Phillips nor Brennan commented on the matter before leaving

Kraut’s court.

According to a criminal complaint filed by East Whiteland police, Rice, 31, of West Goshen was stopped by Wegman’s store security in the parking lot of the grocery store in East Whiteland on New Year’s Eve. She had reportedly gone through a checkout line at the store and paid for other items before leaving, the complaint stated, but not the ones worth $441 secreted in her bag.

Rice resigned her position in the D.A.’s Office on Jan. 3, the date charges were filed.

Rice had been involved in the prosecution of several high profile cases in the county since she was hired in November 2015 after having worked in there office as a legal intern. Most recently, Rice was assigned as the lead prosecutor in the theft case against Monsignor Joseph McLoone, the former chief pastor at St. Joseph’s Church in Downingtown, who is accused of stealing money from parishioners there to pay for personal expenses, including gifting men he was involved in sexual relationships with.