PITTSBURGH — It’s no secret blue lights have filled the streets of the city this month.
“It’s undeniable that we’ve had an increase in our homeless population, an increase in the number of high-need individuals on the streets and an increase in criminal activity,” said Matt Dugan who’s the Democratic Candidate for Allegheny Co. DA.
Dugan said something needs to change as it is impacting the perception of the city and feels it’s up to the top cop to step up as this is an economic driver for the region. He’s now unveiling his plan for public safety in the downtown district if elected this November, starting by working with court administration to create a magisterial district judge specific to downtown.
“A single magisterial judge responsible for downtown Pittsburgh can overtime become more familiar with the downtown population better differential between low-level offenders and dangerous individuals and make more informed decisions that will better serve the safety interest,” Dugan said.
On top of that, Dugan said he will assign a team of ADA’s to prosecute these cases who will work with police on charging and be available 24/7 including staffing every arraignment with an ADA.
Something that did not happen with Yan Carlos Cepeda’s arraignment who was released without bond after trafficking $1.6 million of fentanyl on a bus last month.
“A system and structure that would be in place come January would not have allowed for that individual to be given a non-monetary bond and released without input from the district attorney’s office. So, we want to be able to have an on-call person monitoring what’s happening in the city so when an arrest like that is made, we are notified,” Dugan said.
While deputies search for Cepeda, Dugan said his safety plan was in the works long before this case.
On the other side, Dugan’s opponent, current District Attorney Stephen Zappala is outspoken on this case telling Channel 11 earlier this month that it falls on Judge Orenstein who made the no-bond decision.
“That should have been a no-brainer, just on that basis. This is not a political process. That is easy to do. That much fentanyl and how many people whose lives are adversely affected. That’s a no-brainer,” the DA said.
His campaign released a further statement today stating in part:
“The District Attorney doesn’t get to dictate to the court’s judicial assignments. The president judge is in charge of those assignments. I have and will continue to make suggestions to Judge Clark about ways to improve this process. The District Attorney doesn’t get to dictate to the courts judicial assignments. The president judge is in charge of those assignments. I have and will continue to make suggestions to Judge Clark about ways to improve this process.”
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