Courtroom drama unfolds in Chester County shooting case

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WEST CHESTER — A father's plea to attend his daughters' elementary school graduation.

Accusations of victim intimidation that took place as recently as last week.

And a judge's fear that a defendant who had disregarded his prior court appearances would take a powder before being sent to state prison.

All this court drama ended around a guilty plea Tuesday by a Philadelphia man to an armed robbery on the Upper Main Line in Chester County, in which a former Conestoga High School football player was shot in the arm which left him disabled.

Marqel Styles pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault and robbery, both first-degree felonies, on the day he was scheduled to stand trial on those charges, as well as one count of attempted homicide.

A jury was waiting at the county justice center to appear before Common Pleas Judge Alita Rovito for selection before the prosecution and defense alerted her that there was an agreed upon guilty plea in the case.

Styles, 26, of the West Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia, admitted in his plea that he fired a shot that struck the victim, whose name is not being released, in the arm, requiring surgery .

The victim was in the courtroom with his father for the proceeding, which took place after Rovito sent the jurors home.

Rovito said she will defer sentencing to a later date until a pre-sentencing investigation can be completed by the Chester County Adult Probation Office.

Free him, for now?

But anticipating a request from Assistant District Attorney Nichole Morley for Styles' bail to be revoked — as is sometimes customary in cases where the defendant faces significant prison time — Assistant Public Defender Stephen Dood presented Rovito with this which he admitted was an unusual request.

Could his client remain free with the $75,000 bond set in his case in February 2023 until his sentencing date, which could be months away?

He had checked in regularly with bail authorities and always answered his phone whenever he was called, Dodd assured the judge.

But more importantly, the defense attorney told Rovito, Styles has two daughters, ages 4 and 6, who are expected to participate in kindergarten and first-grade graduation ceremonies this week and next .

“He faces significant incarceration from the state,” Dood acknowledged in his plea for an exception aimed at keeping his client on the streets. “This could be one of the last memories he has with his family before he ultimately has to go to state prison.” These events will be critical in the life of Mr. Styles.

Dood and Morley acknowledged that they had agreed on a cap on the length of time Styles would receive, a limit of 10 to 20 years in prison. It was unclear, however, whether Rovito, which ultimately decides the sentence, would be bound by such a stipulation.

Dodd also requested that if Rovito does not grant Styles the option to remain free on bail, that she place him on electronic home monitoring or agree to let him turn himself in after graduation.

“There’s no reason to believe he would be at risk of fleeing,” Dood said of his client, who stood next to him and agreed.

“I want to apologize on my own behalf,” Styles said. “I’m not asking for forgiveness, but I’m not a flight risk.”

But Morley objected to the request, reminding Rovito that Styles had already missed two court dates and had his bond revoked and forfeited once for failure to appear. His flight risk skyrocketed when he faced a decade behind bars with his guilty plea.

Additionally, she said, Styles has shown he does not hesitate to threaten or intimidate the victim in this case, which he once did by asking others to offer him 1,000 $ for not appearing in court to testify.

“He reaches out to the victim’s family members. He is a flight risk,” she said, noting that he had written that he was prepared to flee to the Dominican Republic if necessary rather than face trial.

“We're going to let this guy go?” » Morley asked incredulously. “He has every reason not to run.”

The victim's father also joined in the plea to not let Styles remain free, standing in front of Rovito and telling him how the case had affected his family.

“It was devastating for us,” the elderly man said. “I just want the court to not consider that and put him in custody.”

Rovito ultimately decided to revoke Styles' bail.

She noted that he admitted to living at a different address than the one he had given to bail authorities for the past three years, that he had not come to West Chester for months to seek a public defender and that he had twice succeeded in a concrete trial. Appointment.

“He has every reason to run,” she told Dodd.

As for her daughters' graduation, Rovito said the suffering the family endured because of her absence was her fault and not the system's.

“You had these children when you committed this crime,” she noted. “That wasn't enough to stop you.” Unfortunately, Mr. Styles, I don't have much confidence in you. You will miss these things, but you miss them because of your own actions.

Investigation

The case began when the victim, who lives in Tredyffrin Township, contacted someone in December 2020 who had posted an Instagram post announcing “All Banks Tap In”, which he took as a code to earn money. money easily.

He was eventually contacted by a man later identified as Styles.

Styles, who the victim knew as “Diamond,” said he would give the man a check for $2,000, which he would then deposit into his checking account and withdraw $1,000, which the two would would then share. The plan didn't work for a number of reasons and the victim ended up owing Diamond $230 that he had given her to cover overdraft fees.

On January 19, 2021, the victim met Diamond and a second man at his home in the township, and some time later they were in a vehicle.

All three men were willing to continue the check cashing scheme, but as the driving force behind the scheme, Styles asked the victim for her cell phone, which would constitute payment for her debt.

Styles pulled out a gun and demanded money. The other man also pointed a gun at him.

The victim managed to grab Styles' gun and push it away from his chest, but not before Styles fired a shot that struck the victim's left elbow.

He was able to jump out of the car on Bear Hill Road in Paoli and head to the Amtrak station on Lancaster Avenue where police found him and took him to Paoli Hospital.

Tredyffrin investigators, including Detectives Michael Carsello and Michael Cermignano, were ultimately able to identify Styles as the perpetrator and he was arrested on January 27, 2021.

Morley told Rovito in his recounting of the facts of the case that the victim still had limited mobility in his arm and had screws and plates inserted there after emergency surgery.

To contact editor Michael P. Rellahan, cal 610-696-1544.