Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ

Feb 23, 2024 By Mike Jones 4 min read

All charges against a Fayette County man accused of having a live pipe bomb in his car following a hit-and-run crash near Waynesburg in October 2022 were dismissed Tuesday – just two days before his trial was set to begin – after a judge determined his case was not brought to court in a timely manner.

The defense attorney for Kenton Llamar Pinson placed the blame for the dismissal on former Greene County prosecutor David Russo for numerous delays that ultimately violated “speedy trial” rules, including asking for the scheduled trial date last November to be postponed.

“Though we recognize that Mr. Pinson’s charges were dismissed on a technicality, he has maintained his innocence throughout the entire process,” defense attorney Timothy Ross said in a written statement Thursday. “This decision is no fault of District Attorney (Brianna) Vanata, but rather is the result of the previous administration providing little to no effort to respect Mr. Pinson’s constitutional right to a speedy trial.”

Pinson, 31, of Labelle, had been facing a charge of unlawful possession of weapons of mass destruction along with numerous other felony counts after police found the pipe bomb in his vehicle on Oct. 19, 2022. State police said Pinson struck a utility pole on Route 19 in Franklin Township and continued on before he was stopped by a Waynesburg police officer in the borough. Four days after the vehicle was towed away from the scene, investigators searched the vehicle and allegedly found a loaded handgun, drug paraphernalia, suspected drugs and $7,000 in counterfeit money.

But also during the search, troopers said they found a live pipe bomb with real explosives, which detonated when the state police’s bomb squad attempted to render it harmless. No one was seriously injured in the explosion.

Following his arrest, Pinson was placed in the Greene County jail on a state parole detainer, but wasn’t charged in connection with the case until Jan. 25, 2023. That started the clock on the state’s judicial Rule 600, which requires a defendant be brought to trial within 365 days of charges being filed unless it’s the defense that asks for delays.

Russo, who lost to Vanata during the Republican primary last May and left office when his term expired at the end of 2023, asked for delays on multiple occasions last year, meaning the clock was ticking on the amount of time to hold Pinson’s trial. According to court documents, a jury was selected in early November and a two-day trial was set for Nov. 28 and 29, but Russo asked for a delay into 2024 due to staffing issues in his office.

A second jury was selected Jan. 30 and the trial was set for Thursday and Friday of this week. However, during a hearing Tuesday, Greene County President Judge Lou Dayich determined that the clock had expired on Pinson’s case Monday, meaning all charges must be dismissed.

“Though we were eager for an opportunity to prove Mr. Pinson’s innocence, we are thankful for this ruling from the court,” Ross said.

Since all charges were dropped against Pinson and the case is now closed, he was released from jail Wednesday. Vanata, who took office Dec. 29, did not contest Dayich’s decision, but asked for various “contraband” to remain in police custody.

“I respect the law when it comes to Rule 600. Had it not been for that (November) continuance, I think we would be fine,” Vanata said in an interview Thursday. “I tried to bring that case to trial as quickly as possible, but ultimately I’m bound by the law.”

Vanata said there are three more cases that she inherited that are also coming up for trial in March that will be up against the Rule 600 “speedy trial” clock. In addition, the state Attorney General’s office has taken on more than 60 cases in Greene County over the past year at Russo’s request due to claims that he did not have adequate resources to prosecute them.