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A Bucks County sheriff’s sergeant will turn himself in to police Friday to face unspecified charges, district attorney David Heckler said Thursday.
Sources told the newspaper last week that a Bucks County grand jury was probing whether Gary Browndorf committed wrongdoing during the arrests of a man and woman for allegedly assaulting him this summer.
A Bristol Township district judge has since dismissed the most serious charge Browndorf had filed, aggravated assault, against the man and woman. And the district attorney’s office has withdrawn the remaining charges against the man, according to court records.
Heckler wouldn’t elaborate on what charges Browndorf faces. But the district attorney said the officer will turn himself in to Middletown police Friday morning before he is to be arraigned at the district court of Judge Daniel Baranoski.
The district attorney’s office will hold a press conference regarding the matter Friday afternoon, Heckler said.
Nino Tinari, Browndorf’s Philadelphia-based attorney, reiterated on Thursday his claim that the investigation into Browndorf’s actions is outrageous and politically motivated.
Tinari said he doesn’t know what charge his client faces. The attorney said he successfully filed a court motion this week to quash the county grand jury’s subpoena to get Browndorf to testify — or invoke the Fifth Amendment — regarding those arrests.
Tinari said Browndorf has spent more than 35 years in law enforcement, including many years in the Philadelphia police department, with a good reputation.
“He has a reputation of doing things evenly and honestly and within the parameters of the law,” Tinari said.
Browndorf has been on unpaid administrative since early last week when he was relieved of his badge, gun and county-owned car.
The county’s grand jury probe involving Browndorf is independent of a state grand jury involving the sheriff’s department. The department has been under investigation for several months, amid allegations of bribery and obstruction of justice. Browndorf, among others in the department, has been subpoenaed to testify.
The county’s probe centers on Browndorf’s July 26 arrests on Garden Lane in the Greenbrook section of Levittown, sources told the newspaper. Browndorf and four sheriff deputies had arrived at the house to arrest Philip Romanek, 29, on a probation violation stemming from a DUI conviction, court records show.
According to the criminal complaint filed by Browndorf, Romanek’s girlfriend, Samantha Doneker, 36, answered the door and repeatedly denied that Romanek was home. But after she let Browndorf and the deputies inside the house, they found Romanek hiding in an attic, Browndorf’s affadavit stated.
“While (Romanek) was coming down from the attic, he kicked Sergeant Browndorf in the chest area striking his vest,” Browndorf wrote in the criminal complaint.
“As Sergeant Browndorf backed away, Ms. Donecker, who had located herself behind Sergeant Browndorf, started to punch and push the sergeant,” Browndorf wrote in court documents.
Doneker and Romanek were then arrested.
Doneker was charged with aggravated assault because she allegedly attacked a law enforcement official. The charge is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. She also was charged with hindering an apprehension, a third-degree felony punishable by up to seven years in prison, and simple assault, a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to five years in prison.
Romanek was charged with the same count of aggravated assault as Doneker. Romanek also was charged with simple assault, a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison, and a summary offense of harassment.
A Bristol Township district judge dismissed the most serious charge, aggravated assault, against Romanek and Doneker at their preliminary hearing weeks later. And the district attorney’s office has withdrawn the remaining charges against Romanek, according to court records.
The case against Doneker, which still includes the charges of simple assault and hindering an apprehension, remains in county court, records show. A trial date is set for Oct. 21.
The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching Doneker or her attorney, Harry Cooper, for comment. She is free on $5,000 bond.
Romanek remains in Bucks County prison for the probation violation, according to court records.
The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching any of the sheriff deputies on hand the day of the arrest for comment.
