By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times
A Martinsville man mowed down by police trying to arrest him on theft and piracy charges last year after he left the Reading Cinema in Manville has pleaded guilty to videotaping the Sasha Baron Cohen movie "Bruno."
After the arrest of Timothy Epifan, police and investigators from the Motion Picture Association of America executed a search warrant on his home that resulted in the seizure of numerous computers from the home, as well as pirated DVD movies and equipment.
Investigators say Epifan had been selling his bootleg copies of the movie over the Internet, and was at the movie theatre the day of his arrest secretly taping the movie again, but Epifan's defense attorney said his client didn't realize the magnitude of his crime.
"He did not realize the gravity of the laws that he was breaking,” Bruno said. "The prosecutor’s office should be commended for the fair manner in which they evaluated this case,” added Bruno, who says his client is still suffering as a result of how police handled the incident to begin with.
The plea deal reached by Somerset County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Murphy and Bruno calls for Epifan to receive probation on the condition that he serve 180 days in the Somerset County Jail and perform 75 hours of community service.
Prosecutors also agreed to dismiss probation violation charges against Epifan, who was serving a three-year probation sentence for distribution of a controlled dangerous substance and conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance charges at the time of his 2009 arrest.
All charges against Paul Epifan were dropped.
Epifan, 22, pleaded guilty to third-degree theft by deception, fourth-degree pirating audiovisual work, resisting arrest and attempted tampering with physical evidence for throwing the camera against a wall as he and his brother, Paul fled from police on July 10, 2009.
Court records show, Somerset County detectives from the Major Crimes Squad had received information that the Epifan brothers were had pirating movies by surreptitiously videotaping new releases with a camcorder in local theaters and selling them over the Internet.
When the brothers left the theater, detectives approached them, identified themselves as law enforcement officers, and attempted to arrest them.
Paul Epifan was arrested without incident. However, Timothy Epifan fled from the detectives.
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Prosecutors said Epifan, who now walks with a cane, dodged in front of two police cars, which were pursuing him as he fled, causing Epifan to collide with one of the police cruisers resulting in the car driving over his left leg, permanently damaging him.
“He has plates and screws and rods in his leg that you can actually feel protruding the skin,” Bruno told the court.
“They could have arrested him in the empty movie theater, or they could have arrested him as he walked out of the movie theater," said Bruno, who's firm has already filed a tort
notice warning that a lawsuit could follow as a result of police running his client down causing his injuries.
“I am certain that someone will be held accountable for the overly-aggressive and inappropriate conduct,” warned Bruno.
Superior Court Judge Paul Armstrong said he would suspend the 180-day jail term Epifan is facing when he is sentenced on June 18.
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The Black Urban Times
A Martinsville man mowed down by police trying to arrest him on theft and piracy charges last year after he left the Reading Cinema in Manville has pleaded guilty to videotaping the Sasha Baron Cohen movie "Bruno."
After the arrest of Timothy Epifan, police and investigators from the Motion Picture Association of America executed a search warrant on his home that resulted in the seizure of numerous computers from the home, as well as pirated DVD movies and equipment.
Investigators say Epifan had been selling his bootleg copies of the movie over the Internet, and was at the movie theatre the day of his arrest secretly taping the movie again, but Epifan's defense attorney said his client didn't realize the magnitude of his crime.
"He did not realize the gravity of the laws that he was breaking,” Bruno said. "The prosecutor’s office should be commended for the fair manner in which they evaluated this case,” added Bruno, who says his client is still suffering as a result of how police handled the incident to begin with.
The plea deal reached by Somerset County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Murphy and Bruno calls for Epifan to receive probation on the condition that he serve 180 days in the Somerset County Jail and perform 75 hours of community service.
Prosecutors also agreed to dismiss probation violation charges against Epifan, who was serving a three-year probation sentence for distribution of a controlled dangerous substance and conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance charges at the time of his 2009 arrest.
All charges against Paul Epifan were dropped.
Epifan, 22, pleaded guilty to third-degree theft by deception, fourth-degree pirating audiovisual work, resisting arrest and attempted tampering with physical evidence for throwing the camera against a wall as he and his brother, Paul fled from police on July 10, 2009.
Court records show, Somerset County detectives from the Major Crimes Squad had received information that the Epifan brothers were had pirating movies by surreptitiously videotaping new releases with a camcorder in local theaters and selling them over the Internet.
When the brothers left the theater, detectives approached them, identified themselves as law enforcement officers, and attempted to arrest them.
Paul Epifan was arrested without incident. However, Timothy Epifan fled from the detectives.
CHECK OUT MORE NEW JERSEY NEWS AT THE NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Prosecutors said Epifan, who now walks with a cane, dodged in front of two police cars, which were pursuing him as he fled, causing Epifan to collide with one of the police cruisers resulting in the car driving over his left leg, permanently damaging him.
“He has plates and screws and rods in his leg that you can actually feel protruding the skin,” Bruno told the court.
“They could have arrested him in the empty movie theater, or they could have arrested him as he walked out of the movie theater," said Bruno, who's firm has already filed a tort
notice warning that a lawsuit could follow as a result of police running his client down causing his injuries.
“I am certain that someone will be held accountable for the overly-aggressive and inappropriate conduct,” warned Bruno.
Superior Court Judge Paul Armstrong said he would suspend the 180-day jail term Epifan is facing when he is sentenced on June 18.
Media Outlets must credit The Black Urban Times
www.theblackurbantimes.com
twitter.com/alicia_c_
www.newjerseynewsroom.com
facebook.com/theblackurbantimes
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