A three-judge state Superior Court panel has upheld the conviction and prison sentence of a Berks County man who possessed marijuana in November 2009 in Schuylkill Haven.
Dawud F. Felton, 25, of Reading, did not provide any reason to show that it was wrong to start his nonjury trial in his absence, the panel ruled in a six-page opinion filed Thursday in Pottsville.
"The record in this case supports the trial court's decision to commence the trial in (Felton's) absence," Judge Cheryl Lynn Allen wrote in the opinion.
As a result, Felton's conviction for possession of a small amount of marijuana stands, as does his prison term of 12 to 30 days.
Judge Charles M. Miller found Felton guilty Dec. 12, 2011. On Jan. 25, Miller imposed the prison term on Felton as part of his sentence, which also required the defendant to pay costs, a $100 fine, $100 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund and $239 restitution to the state police crime laboratory in Bethlehem.
Schuylkill Haven borough police charged Felton with possessing the marijuana Nov. 26, 2009, in the borough.
Felton's trial was scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. but he was not present, nor was he there at 10 a.m. when Miller started the proceedings, Allen wrote.
Felton arrived during the trial and testified but was still found guilty.
"Where the defendant is absent without cause at the time his trial is scheduled to begin, he may be tried in absentia," she wrote. "The record in this case supports the trial court's decision."
Specifically, Allen wrote, Felton never offered an explanation about why he was late, his lawyer could give no reason for his client's tardiness and the trial already had been continued once.
Judges Anne E. Lazarus and Paula Francisco Ott, the other panel members, joined in Allen's opinion.
