Sep 25, 2014 4 min read

A Washington County judge ruled Thursday the district attorney’s office knowingly withheld evidence in a robbery trial to protect its case.

Common Pleas Judge John F. DiSalle ruled Deputy Assistant District Attorney Joseph Zupancic was aware of two letters his key witness, Chris Pitzarella, scribed while in Washington County jail. In the letters, Pitzarella exonerates his co-defendant, Shayne Coffield, in the robbery of a Four Star Pizza delivery driver, then recants his previous statement claiming Coffield threatened him to write the first letter.

The existence of the letters was discovered the day Coffield, 24, of Washington, was set to go to trial on the matter earlier this month. His attorney, Amanda Como, said she was only provided with the prosecution’s investigative material and the two letters just as the trial was set to begin. She then entered a motion for dismissal.

Coffield is accused of participating in a robbery of a Four Star Pizza delivery driver March 9, 2013. Coffield was accused of the robbery along with co-defendants Christopher Pitzarella, 24, of Washington, and Michael Stienstraw, 27, of Claysville. Pitzarella pleaded guilty to the robbery and was sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months in jail. The charges against Stienstraw were dismissed after DiSalle found the district attorney’s office failed to bring the case to trial in 365 days, as required under state court Rule 600.

DiSalle heard initial arguments on the matter Sept. 9, but waited until Thursday’s hearing to make his ruling. Thursday’s hearing included testimony from Zupancic, Washington police Detective Dan Rush and Chris Pitzarella’s father, Carl Pitzarella.

Zupancic testified he was aware of the second letter in which Chris Pitzarella recants his earlier statement during a June meeting at the jail. The meeting occurred a few weeks prior to Coffield’s trial for robbing the Uni-Mart at 336 E. Maiden St., Washington, in March 2013 and shooting one of two clerks working that day. Pitzarella was also involved in the case and pleaded guilty. He also testified against Coffield, who was found not guilty after the two-day jury trial in mid-June.

Zupancic, who handled the case for the district attorney’s office, said he never passed the information along to Como because he “forgot.” He testified it was not his intention to hide the knowledge of the letters and could not answer how the second letter was later discovered in the Uni-Mart trial documents.

Rush testified he was “fairly certain” Zupancic informed him about the second letter prior to a June jail meeting with Pitzarella but said he never saw the letter.

Carl Pitzarella testified his son contacted him prior to writing the first letter. He said Chris Pitzarella told him Coffield wanted him to write a letter to Como explaining his innocence. Carl Pitzarella encouraged his son to write what Coffield was asking him to and to then send the letter to his Canonsburg address. From there, Carl Pitzarella said he promised his son he would pass the letter on to the district attorney’s office and the police but testified he forgot to do so. He later delivered the first letter to the district attorney’s office, after Friedmann contacted him the morning the trial was set to start.

The second letter was sent directly to the district attorney’s office and was addressed to District Attorney Gene Vittone. The exact arrival date of the second letter is unknown, but it is believed to be sent in late summer.

Como again asked for the case to be dismissed.

“(Zupancic) didn’t give me the letter because he knew it would destroy his case,” she said. “This violated my clients rights. A continuance is not good enough. This is blatant prosecutorial misconduct.”

DiSalle agreed the district attorney’s office engaged in prosecutorial misconduct, barring the letters from the trial and Pitzarella from testifying, and set the trial for October. Como said the continuance could, in itself, cause the case to be dismissed because it could push the case past the 365-day limitation set under Rule 600.

Assistant District Attorney John Friedmann argued barring Pitzarella from testifying was the same as dismissing the case.

“The commonwealth is unable to meet the burden without unreasonable doubt,” he said.

Both Friedmann and Como declined to comment after the hearing.

Vittone said the district attorney’s office respected the judge’s decision but would review his ruling to determine his next step. He declined further comment.

Coffield remains in Washington County jail.