Pennsylvania state parole agent Kevin J. Seelinger, right, was acquitted of first-degree murder and all other charges in the shooting death of parolee Marchello D. Woodard, left, in Erie on July 2, 2025.
GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS
USA TODAY Network, Reuters
The statewide police union for Pennsylvania state parole officers is calling for another review of the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, but a state agency has already indicated it sees no need for action.
In response to the prosecution and acquittal of state parole agent Kevin J. Seelinger, the Philadelphia-based Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 92 has asked the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to look at whether the District Attorney’s Office should be removed from administering the Erie Gun Working Group.
The request follows the lodge’s demand that Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday review how the District Attorney’s Office handled the case of Seelinger, who was a member of the Gun Working Group, a multi-agency anti-crime task force that the PCCD funds.
In its latest request, Lodge 92 wants the PCCD to “immediately review the Erie County District Attorney’s Office’s administration of the Erie Gun Working Group and take appropriate action to revoke its administrative control over the program’s funding and reassign those responsibilities to the Erie Police Department,” Lodge 92 Executive Director Thomas Wines wrote in an Oct. 22 email to the PCCD.
Wines called the Erie police “a logical alternative to serve as the lead operational and administering agency” given its “direct involvement in local law enforcement, investigative responsibilities, and existing relationships with regional law enforcement partners.”
PCCD: No ‘evidence to warrant further action’
The PCCD responded to Wines’ email by saying its initial review found no issues.
“The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency takes seriously instances related to public safety as well as responsible use of our grant dollars across the Commonwealth,” the PCCD said in a statement. “PCCD’s role as a funder is to ensure compliance with all grant requirements, which is completed through required reporting and other established monitoring processes.
“Based on PCCD’s initial review of reported activities, expenditures, and submitted documentation provided by the grantee, PCCD did not find any evidence to warrant further action from our agency.
“In this case, Erie County is the primary grant recipient and is in the best position to determine whether programmatic adjustments may be necessary to best support the community’s needs and would work with PCCD to effectuate changes to the grant agreement as necessary.”
Referring to Wines’ request, District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz told the Erie Times-News: “My office is aware that this letter has been sent and we are prepared to discuss the matter with PCCD should they have questions.”
The PCCD awarded Erie County a $499,700 grant in April for the Gun Working Group and other initiatives administered through the District Attorney’s Office until 2029.
Union questions DA’s ‘continued suitability’
Seelinger was assigned to the Erie Gun Working Group when he fatally shot Erie parolee Marchello D. Woodard during a compliance check in the 400 block of East 27th Street in Erie about 9:45 p.m. on July 2, 2025.
Hirz prosecuted Seelinger on charges including first-degree murder. Seelinger argued self-defense and was acquitted on all counts Oct. 14.
On Oct. 21, Wines sent a letter to Sunday requesting a review of the prosecution.
In his Oct. 22 email to the PCCD on the Gun Working Group, Wines wrote: “In my opinion, the District Attorney’s Office has demonstrated a fundamental failure of leadership that calls into question its continued suitability to administer this important public safety initiative.”
“Agent Seelinger was participating in the very Gun Working Group administered by the District Attorney’s Office when the events of July 2, 2025, occurred,” Wines wrote. “Rather than demonstrating an understanding of the difficult and often dangerous circumstances confronting officers assigned to these operations, the District Attorney’s Office chose to pursue a murder prosecution against an agent working as part of its own coordinated law enforcement initiative.”
Group’s link to Seelinger cited at trial
Seelinger’s involvement in the Gun Working Group came up during his trial. According to testimony, state parole agents were assigned to the group after Mark Schau, then the chief Erie County detective in the District Attorney’s Office, requested them in 2023 from Larry Powell, who heads the state Department of Corrections’ Erie District Office for state parole.
State parole agents are no longer assigned to the Gun Working Group, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections told the Erie Times-News after the Seelinger trial. She said the department “is currently reviewing their participation.”
In his email to the PCCD, Wines said Lodge 92’s request “is not an attempt to eliminate the Erie Gun Working Group or diminish its mission. Quite the opposite. We recognize the importance of coordinated efforts to combat illegal firearms, violent crime, and dangerous offenders throughout Erie County.
“Our position is that the mission is too important to remain under leadership whose judgment and administration have been called into such serious question.”
Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@usatodayco.com or 814-870-1813.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: In latest request, FOP challenges Erie DA’s role in gun task force
Reporting by Ed Palattella, Erie Times-News / Erie Times-News
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This story was originally published October 23, 2026 at 5:08 AM.