Man sentenced for perjury

COURTHOUSE — A Norristown man was sentenced to eight months in prison Friday for lying to a grand jury.

Marcus Hinton, 21 of the 600 block of Astor Street, was sentenced to time served and will be on parole for the next year. The grand jury found that Hinton committed perjury when he testified under oath and the lie impeded its investigation into several shootings between two feuding males in Norristown.

Hinton had told the grand jury about a shooting that occurred in the area of Moore and Violet streets in Norristown on Jan. 5, 2013. He acknowledged hearing about it, but denied being in the area of the shooting when it happened. According to the jury’s presentment, two other witnesses, whose names were withheld, placed Hinton being in the area at the time of the shooting. They also said he was one of the intended targets of the shooter. Hinton did not come clean during the investigation. Assistant District Attorney John Gradel, who is the head of the grand jury, says Hinton’s conviction and sentence send a message not to lie to an investigative grand jury.

“It sends a clear signal that if you’re subpoenaed to testify, you should do so truthfully,” Gradel said.

Lying under oath to the grand jury has not been a major problem, but the county has prosecuted about 12 cases of perjury in the last two years. Gradel said.

“In order to prosecute, the lie has to be a material issue. It has to somehow affect the outcome of the investigation,” he said. Perjury to a grand jury is a third-degree felony, which carries a sentence of up to nine-months in prison for a person who does not have a prior record. The sentencing guidelines for the crime become stricter for someone who has a past criminal record.

“It sends a clear signal that if you’re subpoenaed to testify, you should do so truthfully.”