Youngwood man convicted of disorderly conduct for yelling at sheriff's deputies
A Youngwood man was found guilty of a summary disorderly conduct offense Wednesday for yelling at Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputies who were near his home in October.
Fredrick G. Brandt, 61, was acquitted of a harassment accusation during a summary trial. He has three days to appeal the ruling.
Brandt testified that he yelled at the deputies — who were looking for a fugitive Oct. 5 near his home — because he was upset about Deputy Rob Orbin’s testimony against his girlfriend, Patricia Fritz, a former sheriff’s deputy, in her summary trial days earlier.
“I asked him to come over and talk to me, and when he wouldn’t, I tried to embarrass him,” Brandt testified. “I have a deep voice; I wasn’t screaming. I was yelling just so they could hear me.”
Testimony from Orbin and three other witnesses painted a different picture — that Brandt threatened to assault the deputy and was yelling aggressively.
“I overheard someone yelling, ‘Hey, Orbin, why don’t you come over here so I can kick your (expletive),’ ” Orbin testified. “After that, he said I should ‘get myself in that church right there and make right with God, you lying piece of (expletive).’ ”
Orbin, who was with several other deputies, said Brandt challenged all of them. Brandt denied threatening the group but said he was upset about Orbin’s previous testimony. Fritz is appealing her harassment conviction. A deputy testified during her summary trial that Fritz pushed and poked him during an August union grievance hearing at the courthouse.
Defense attorney Ken Burkley characterized Brandt’s actions as an argument.
“I think it’s pretty clear what this is all about and why these charges were filed,” Burkley said. “This is about Patricia Fritz and (Sheriff) Jonathan Held, and they bring in Patricia Fritz’s boyfriend because he says some man-challenging things to six deputies with guns. It’s preposterous, your honor.”
Assistant District Attorney Adam Barr argued that the witnesses consistently testified about Brandt’s demeanor and profanity-laced word choice during the incident.
“The defendant’s outside — he says it outside in the full view of the public in a public place,” Barr said.
Brandt was ordered to pay $260.25 in costs and fines.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
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