PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - A Philadelphia man whose life sentence was commuted on Thursday by Governor Tom Wolf could be arrested as soon as he is released from prison on Friday.
David Sheppard was granted clemency for his role in a fatal robbery in 1992.
However, the outgoing Delaware County District Attorney, Katayoun Copeland, said that he is still a fugitive of a shoplifting charge also from 1992.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Sheppard is accused of stealing five pairs of jeans, worth collectively around $325 dollars, from a store called Jeans West in Springfield. The store has since closed.
According to the Inquirer, Sheppard posted bail on the shoplifting charge but failed to appear for his date in court.
In a release, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman said that he was informed by the Department of Corrections on Thursday night that a detainer was filed to rearrest David Sheppard when he is released.
A post shared by Lt. Governor John Fetterman (@johnfetterman) on Dec 6, 2019 at 5:36am PST
“What makes it even more petty is that Copeland’s not even going to be around in three weeks,” Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman told KDKA Radio on Friday. “This is strictly, ‘let’s just be as vindictive as we can on the way out.’”
The shoplifting charge was not pursued while Sheppard was incarcerated.
“Any normal case, that would have been dismissed, thrown out,” Fetterman said, “but in this particular case they are invoking it as a method to keep him imprisoned, which is astonishing.”
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