Judge Thomas Bianco yesterday granted a motion for an extension of time to file pretrial motions for one of the three defendants in the murders of a Clymer man and woman last October in Cherryhill Township.
Justin Stevenson, whose 20th birthday is today, was given until August 25th to file pretrial motions, with oral arguments scheduled for September 13th. Judge Bianco also rescheduled Stevenson’s Criminal Call to October 6th. Attorney David Shrager also filed affidavits to support his request to classify his client as a pauper in order to proceed with the case and to appoint a separate attorney for the penalty phase, should there be a need for one.
Stevenson, 19-year-old Nathan Price, and 18-year-old Isaiah Scott are all charged in the beating deaths of Timothy Gardner and Jacqueline Brink at the couple’s Hillside Drive apartment outside of Clymer. Investigators say they planned to rob Gardner during a drug deal and ended up beating him with a pipe and killing Brink to keep her quiet. Two children in the home were not harmed. District Attorney Pat Dougherty is seeking the death penalty against Stevenson and Price.
As of now, Bianco has a hearing scheduled today on Price’s petition for pauper’s status and appointment of a separate attorney for the penalty phase.
Scott, who left the scene of the crime as the beatings were occurring, has a hearing scheduled for August 16th on his request to have his case moved to juvenile court. He was 17 at the time of the killings, and is therefore not eligible for the death penalty.
