Elijah Hemingway’s criminal history: Conditions revealed of non-monetary bail set after July burglary charge
PITTSBURGH —
Criminal history was provided to the judge when Elijah Hemingway, the suspect charged in the fatal stabbing of UPMC Children’s Hospital Dr. Idris Evans, was released on nonmonetary bail in July after being charged with burglary.
In July, Hemingway had been arrested for a February burglary at an ex-girlfriend’s home in Pittsburgh, where he was issued non-monetary bail.
The district court administrator confirmed to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that judges are provided with a defendant’s criminal complaint, affidavit, warrant, pre-trial risk assessment and criminal history, including out-of-state charges, during arraignments.
The conditions of Hemingway’s nonmonetary bail at the time of his July release included no contact and reporting by phone, which the judge ordered, according to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office.
Less than three months later, Hemingway was charged with the fatal attack on Evans in Edgewood. Two days later, he was charged with rape for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in Wilkinsburg the day before the fatal stabbing.
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District Attorney Stephen Zappala elaborated on the bail process, saying that preliminary arraignments are not adversarial and that his office does not attend unless requested by police or concerned citizens.
“Had we known about this, and known about his rap sheet, we probably would have taken an appeal with Judge (Edward) Borkowski,” Zappala said.
Zappala also commented on District Judge Anthony Ceoffe’s record, stating, “Ceoffe, he doesn’t have a history that is inconsistent with the protection of the public.”
Borkowski is often responsible for reviewing bail decisions in Allegheny County, but Hemingway’s bail was issued by Ceoffe.
Zappala said his office would have likely appealed the bail decision had they been aware of Hemingway’s criminal history.
“The most significant crime in suburban Allegheny County is when somebody invades your home. That really hurts people. That really makes, especially, older people scared,” Zappala said. “We go in, and we argue that people should go to jail for that. It is a felony. I’ve got to get judges to get in the same lane.”
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