XPost: talk.politics.guns, pa.politics, talk.politics.misc   
   XPost: alt.abortion, sac.politics   
   From: february2025@jail.time   
      
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   A Columbia man was recently convicted of raping and beating a woman in 2015.   
      
   A Lancaster County jury convicted Tomas M. Matthews on Friday of 11 counts,   
   including felony rape and aggravated assault, after a week-long trial with   
   Judge David Ashworth presiding.   
      
   Assistant District Attorney Karen Mansfield, who won the conviction, informed   
   the judge after the verdict that she will seek a third-strike sentence because   
   the recent conviction is Matthews' third for a violent crime.   
      
   Judge Ashworth, at the verdict, raised Matthews' bail to $1 million, which has   
   not been posted.   
      
   Sentencing will be held in a few months. If applicable, Matthews, 37, faces   
   mandatory minimum prison terms of 25 years on each count of rape and   
   aggravated assault, per the third-strike guidelines.   
      
   The jury deliberated about five hours before returning guilty a verdict Friday   
   afternoon to counts of: rape, aggravated assault, theft by unlawful taking,   
   terroristic threats, unlawful restraint (two counts), intimidation of witness   
   or victim, simple    
   assault (two counts), sexual assault, and carrying a firearm without a license.   
      
   He was found not guilty of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.   
      
   Mansfield presented testimony and evidence that Matthews raped and beat the   
   woman, while threatening her with a knife, inside a Bethel Street home on June   
   7, 2015.   
      
   The woman sustained fractures to her nose and tail bone and was strangled to   
   the point where she lost consciousness.   
      
   Matthews then stole the woman's legally-possessed gun, which police recovered   
   from him when he was arrested that same day at Markle Park in Columbia.   
      
   Also, prior to sentencing, an evaluation will be done for Judge Ashworth's   
   consideration of Matthews as a "sexually violent predator."   
      
   The judge will make his determination on that at the time of sentencing.   
      
   Columbia police Officer Holly Oster filed charges.   
      
   MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.l   
   ncaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright   
      
   https://lancastercountypa.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=740&ARC=1236   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)