{"id":31846,"date":"2026-01-21T13:01:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=31846"},"modified":"2026-01-21T13:01:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:01:51","slug":"chester-county-das-weekly-update-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=31846","title":{"rendered":"Chester County DA’s Weekly Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s Note: The following is a submission by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Here is a brief update on some of the events that occurred in the Chester County DA\u2019s Office during the week of January 12, 2026:<\/p>\n

Coatesville Man Found Guilty in Shooting Case<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

On January 14, 2026, a Chester County jury convicted Damonte Reason, 23, of Coatesville, of Aggravated Assault and related charges after a three-day trial before the Honorable Patrick Carmody. Evidence presented during the trial established that the Defendant intentionally fired multiple shots at various victims who were standing on a porch at a residence in Coatesville, before fleeing the scene.<\/p>\n

Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said \u201cI\u2019m proud of the work by our team and the Coatesville City Police Department. Because of our partnership, a violent criminal has been held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coatesville Teacher Arrested for Stealing Funds from Teachers Association<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

On January 15, 2026, Kathleen Elicker, 61, of West Chester, was arrested for Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Funds, Receiving Stolen Property, and Theft by Unlawful Taking or Disposition. The Defendant\u2019s bail was set at <\/span>$50,000 unsecured.<\/span><\/p>\n

The criminal complaint indicates that the Defendant, a Coatesville Area School District teacher, was stealing funds from the Coatesville Area Teachers Association (\u201cCATA\u201d) while working in the capacity as CATA Treasurer and Negotiations Chair during the 2019\u20132020 to the 2022\u20132023 school years. A review of bank statements by Chester County Detectives revealed that the Defendant had continuously misappropriated funds belonging to the CATA and deposited them into her personal accounts.<\/p>\n

Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said, \u201cThis Defendant used her position of trust in the Coatesville Area Teachers Association to take money meant for her fellow teachers. These charges are a critical first step towards holding her accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coatesville Man Sentenced to 5\u201312 Years in Prison for Stalking and Intimidation<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

On January 15, 2026, the Honorable Bret M. Binder sentenced David Bracetty to 5\u201312 years in state prison for Retaliation Against a Witness\/Victim, Stalking, Intimidation, and other related charges. Bracetty, who was arrested in April of 2024, threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend, damaged her property, and continued to stalk and harass her if she contacted police. He was arrested by the Phoenixville Police Department for violating a PFA and posting lewd videos of his ex-girlfriend to social media. The matter was scheduled for trial last year; however, the Defendant failed to appear. Despite that, a jury found the Defendant guilty of the charges. Judge Binder imposed the 5\u201312 year sentence after police rearrested the Defendant.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Malvern Man Charged with Unlawful Contact with Minors<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

On January 16, 2026, Matthew Hogan, 30, of Malvern, was arrested and charged with Unlawful Contact with Minors, Sexual Assault of Minors, and other related charges. Hogan was arrested by the Chester County Detectives and remanded to Chester County Prison after failing to post $500,000 bail.<\/p>\n

The criminal complaint filed by the Chester County Detectives indicates that after receiving a cyber tip in October of 2025, investigators determined that the Defendant used Snapchat to make sexually explicit requests to minors. The Defendant had contact with approximately 13 child victims who either sent the Defendant sexual images or engaged in sexual conversations with the Defendant. There are still unidentified child victims seen in explicit images found on the Defendant\u2019s cell phone. Investigators are working to identify these victims.<\/p>\n

Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said, \u201cIf parents recognize the Defendant or his Instagram screen name \u2018wolf_of_broadst\u2019 they should contact the Chester County Detectives at 610-344-6866. And as the father of two young children, I remind all parents: it is imperative that you monitor your children\u2019s online activities and communications to help protect them from online predators.\u201d<\/p>\n

Please remember, if you have concerns about the safety of a child, you should say something. Call 911. Call Childline at 1-800-932-0313. Childline reports can be anonymous.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor’s Note: The following is a submission by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office. Here is a brief update on some of the events that occurred in the Chester County DA\u2019s Office during the week of January 12, 2026: Coatesville Man Found Guilty in Shooting Case On January 14, 2026, a Chester County jury convicted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[407,3162],"class_list":["post-31846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-chester-county-district-attorneys-office","tag-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31846"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31847,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31846\/revisions\/31847"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}