By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
Trenton Dibartolomeo has been denied bond in a capital kidnapping case. Judge Steven Shaffer in a hearing in Preston County Court on Thursday, May 22nd, denied a motion by the 33 year old Dibartolomeo’s attorney Phillip Isner to grant bond.
Tucker County Prosecuting Attorney Savannah Hull Wilkins called West Virginia State Police Trooper G.P. Hahn, who has served the force for four years, as a witness at the hearing. Trooper Hahn, who is part of the Parsons Detachment, responded to a call on Saturday, April 5th of an assault.
Trooper Hahn testified that he received the call at night and the victim noticed the defendant’s truck at the scene, but had taken off when he saw EMS at the scene. Trooper Hahn then said he encountered the defendant in Parsons alone in the truck. According to Trooper Hahn, the defendant was cooperative and admitted to drinking a 30 pack of beer that night. That was when the Trooper took the defendant into custody for DUI, he said.
Trooper Hahn also testified that he interviewed the victim, defendant and three others: Cory Dibartolomeo, Crystal Hensley and Levi McCauley about the events of that night.
The victim, according to Trooper Hahn, said that between midnight and 1 a.m., the two Dibartolomeo brothers, Hensley and McCauley arrived at his residence in Parsons and forced their way into the residence when he answered the door. Once inside, the victim was tied up with an extension cord, beaten extensively, strangled, threatened to be killed and threatened to have his fingers broken.
The Trooper also testified that the victim waited until all four of the accused were ransacking his home to manage to break free, escape and call 911.
“I believe he waited for his window to escape,” Trooper Hahn said.
Trooper Hahn said when he was shown the scene, the house was “torn up.” The extension cord that was use to tie up the victim was found on the floor and taken into evidence, as was a knife that was identified by the victim as used by Hensley as being held to the victim’s throat at one point during the 2½ to 3 hours that the four were at the residence. Other evidence collected at the scene included blood that Trooper Hahn said was from when Hensley fell and hit her head on a counter.
Video and audio evidence was also collected, Hahn testified. Hahn said he reviewed 10 minutes of video that placed the defendant and McCauley at the scene and audio of the victim, Hensley and Trenton Dibartolomeo, as well. In total, Trooper Hahn said that 2½ to 3 hours of each exist to yet be fully reviewed. The video, Trooper Hahn said came from the bedroom, while the audio was from a camera in the living room that had fallen, but still managed to capture audio of the events.
Attorney Isner objected to Trooper Hahn’s testimony about the audio evidence and questioned how the Trooper could distinguish his client’s voice from the other male voices in the group when there were four men in the house at the time. Trooper Hahn said that he had spoke with the defendant at length over the course of nearly 5 hours while the defendant was processed. Also, the victim was with Trooper Hahn while he reviewed the audio footage and identified the various voices on the recording, as well. It was also stated during the hearing that the defendant was often in the State Patrol Office in Parsons to conduct business and had interacted with Trooper Hahn on occasion in the past.
Cory Dibartolomeo’s statement, according to Trooper Hahn, said that the defendant called him that evening, which was unusual because the brothers did not speak to each other. The purpose behind the call was to go to the victim’s home to speak to him about missing cash. Cory Dibartolomeo then stated that all went well for a few minutes before the violence began. The defendant was also reported to have said not to start without him.
Trooper Hahn said that Cory Dibartolomeo stated that it was the defendant that grabbed the victim around the neck, beat him and was going to tie something around the victim’s neck, but Cory Dibartolomeo stopped that. There was extensive bruising on the victim’s neck, chest and some on his leg, Trooper Hahn testified.
Levi McCauley also gave a statement, Trooper Hahn testified. The statement he gave was basically the same as the one given by Cory Dibartolomeo, Trooper Hahn said. However, McCauley in his statement denied ever tying up the victim when instructed to do so by the defendant. As with Cory Dibartolomeo’s statement, he said all was fine for a few minutes, Trooper Hahn said, “then everything broke loose.”
In his testimony, Trooper Hahn never wavered from his stand that it was Trenton Dibartolomeo that instigated the incidents of that night. Trooper Hahn said it was the defendant that started the violence and it was the defendant that was the primary aggressor.
Attorney Isner argued that his client did not physically tie up the victim or hold a knife to the victim’s throat that night and therefore could not have been the primary aggressor. Isner said that the knife was used by Hensley and it was attested that the victim was tied up by McCauley. However, both Trooper Hahn and Savannah Hull Wilkins maintained that it was the defendant that was calling the shots that night and it was the defendant who was in charge of what happened in that house.
Another point that Isner brought up was the recent investigation into the missing money. Isner said that the victim had been under investigation for the theft of money from the defendant’s grandmother. Trooper Hahn said he was aware there had been an investigation, but was unaware of any outcome or even if it was ongoing or concluded as he had not participated in the investigation himself. Isner questioned the validity of the victim’s statements and credibility given the accusations against him.
Isner did not call any witnesses during the hearing. Wilkins stated that there was significant evidence against the defendant in the case. She reiterated that it was the defendant’s idea to go to the victim’s house, his idea to tie the victim up and there were recordings of the event, as well as that the defendant spearheaded the events and was the most aggressive of the group. Wilkins stated the tying up of the victim was the main factor to consider over bond and asked that the court deny the request.
Isner questioned whether kidnapping should be considered a “capital offense”. Judge Shaffer in his comments addressed the matter that since West Virginia abolished the death penalty, capital offenses are those that carry mandatory life sentences, such as kidnapping.
Isner reiterated his position that Trooper Hahn only reviewed 10 minutes of potentially 5 plus hours of audio and video footage and said he felt that the court should have seen the footage for itself. He also asserted that he felt that the prosecution faced a challenge in proving kidnapping based on 10 minutes of footage.
Besides questions over the victim’s credibility, Isner said the victim had motivation to not tell the truth given the investigation into the theft of the grandmother’s money. Isner also said that the victim showed the four accused his knife collection before the attack occurred and questioned why he would do that if the four had forced their way into his home.
Isner said that even if bond were granted, he understood given the nature of the other felony charges of breaking and entering and strangulation the bond might be substantial, but that he and his client were prepared for that.
“I believe the court should set a bond in this case because they have not met that burden,” Isner said.
Judge Shaffer in his comments said that the court had to look at the nature of the crime. In a summary of the events, he focused on the fact that the brother received a call and found it unusual because the two did not speak, the defendant admitting to drinking a 30 pack. Judge Shaffer commented that the defendant “obviously has a problem with alcohol.” The 10 minutes of the 4 ½ to 5 hours of video and audio listened to by Trooper Hahn was also mentioned by Judge Shaffer.
Judge Shaffer also commented that the victim was bound, beaten and threatened to have fingers broken. Judge Shaffer also said that Cory Dibartolomeo and Levi McCauley’s testimonies collaborated that the defendant was the primary aggressor and paraphrased the defendant’s words of, “don’t start anything until he gets there.” It was the defendant that directed the others, Judge Shaffer said. The defendant was seen on video after the victim escaped saying, “He got out, we got to get out of here,” Judge Shaffer quoted as well as relating that when the defendant returned to scene, he left when he saw EMS.
“If they hadn’t been there, we may have been looking at a murder,” Judge Shaffer said.
Judge Shaffer said the court must also look at, if convicted, what is the punishment? In the case of the kidnapping charge, it is life in prison. The defendant also seemed to have a problem with alcohol, Judge Shaffer said. However, the Judge said he examines each on a case by case determination.
But in the final determination, Judge Shaffer denied bail. Trenton Dibartolomeo was remanded back into the custody of the Tygart Valley Regional Jail at the hearing.
Trenton Ray Dibartolomeo of Parsons is charged with felonies of one count of strangulation, one count burglary and one count kidnapping. He is currently being held without bond.
Cory Bryant Dibartolomeo of Parsons is charged with felonies of one count burglary and one count of conspiracy. He is currently out on bond.
Crystal Kay Hensley of Hambleton is charged with felonies of one count burglary, one count conspiracy and one count malicious assault/unlawful assault. She is currently out on bond.
Levi Garrett McCauley of Hambleton is charged with felonies of one count burglary, one count kidnapping and one count conspiracy. He is currently held without bond.
