Selina M. Hine
WESTFIELD – A city man was led out of Westfield District Court in handcuffs Monday on a probation violation after being arrested over the weekend on new charges of trafficking cocaine.
Judge Philip A. Contant said that Jacob A. Lisheness, 32, is a danger to the community and is being held without the right to bail pending the outcome of a case that dates back to May.
At a July 10 arraignment, Lisheness was released on his personal recognizance after being charged with two counts of threat to commit a crime for allegedly arranging for three men to go to the Sky Box Sports Bar, located at 25 Point Grove Road, on May 10 to beat up a patron. He also allegedly threatened to rape and kill an 18-year-old bartender if she interfered with his plan.
Lisheness was due back in Westfield District Court last week for a pretrial hearing on that case, but his attorney didn’t appear, so the case was continued till September 29.
On Monday, Lisheness’ private attorney, Donald Stolgitis, said he’ll be looking to file a motion to dismiss the threat to commit a crime charges due to a procedural error.
Now Lisheness will be held until at least September 29 when all the charges will be heard, including the most recent charges of cocaine trafficking in 36-100 grams and conspiracy to violate drug law with two co-defendants.
Angelina G. Pagano
At 10:30 p.m. Friday night, police stopped a vehicle, in which Lisheness was a passenger, near the Evangelical Free Church, located at 568 Southwick Road, for probable cause of drug trafficking.
Police, including detectives and officers from a number of communities, had reason to believe the group had gone to Hartford to pick up cocaine, which they intended to distribute in the Westfield/Southwick area, Westfield Police Capt. Michael McCabe said Monday morning.
The driver, Angelina G. Pagano, 22, of Westfield, and Lisheness’ girlfriend, Selina M. Hine, 21, of Westfield were also charged with cocaine trafficking in 36-100 grams and conspiracy to violate drug law.
Another male occupant of the car wasn’t arrested nor charged.
Assistant District Attorney Magali Montes asked that Lisheness be held on $25,000 cash bail on the new charges.
Contant set bail at $3,000 for the trafficking charges, of which Lisheness already paid $2,500 to secure his release following his arrest on Friday. Therefore, if Lisheness didn’t have another case pending, he would have been set free by posting an additional $500.
Police have had Lisheness under surveillance since August after confidential informants told Westfield police that he was selling large amounts of cocaine out of his residence, Montes said.
During the officers’ surveillance many cars were seen coming and going from Lisheness’ Southwick Road address, which appeared to be drug deals.
“I’m not living where they say I’m living,” Lisheness said outside of the courtroom.
The defendant routinely paid drivers $50 or half a gram of cocaine to drive him to Hartford to pick up narcotics, said Montes.
Additionally, Lisheness was arrested in Hartford for possession of cocaine a few months ago, according to Montes and Stolgitis.
Montes said that Westfield police followed the defendant to Hartford and allegedly witnessed him purchasing 57 grams of cocaine and concealing it in the hood of Pagano’s 2008 Volkswagen.
Stolgitis said that most of the observations made by police need to be suppressed while the officers were in Hartford because there is nothing that says they are part of a multi-state task force.
A representative of the Westfield Police Department said that officers can observe a suspect anywhere as long as no government action is taken outside of the officers’ jurisdiction.
“This is a gray area,” Stolgitis said.
While Lisheness was under surveillance, officers observed him on two occasions go under the hood of the Volkswagen and “adjust or fix something,” Montes said.
When the vehicle was stopped Friday night, a canine unit led police to the narcotics under the hood, which were in a 4- to-6-inch box that contained a plastic bag with white chunks; these tested positive for cocaine worth approximately $6,000, said Montes.
Stolgitis argued that the drugs were “found under the hood, he (Lisheness) was in the back seat and it’s not his car.”
The prosecution stated that Lisheness has 20 guilty convictions in the Commonwealth dating back to 2001, including assault with a dangerous weapon and numerous default warrants.
Hine’s court-appointed attorney William Lyons was irate in court claiming that the only reason his client was charged was due to her association with Lisheness.
Hine is a high school graduate, was working until last month and doesn’t live with Lisheness as the police believe but lives with her mother and grandmother, Lyons said.
“This is guilt by association,” he said. “There isn’t enough to charge my client just because she might have dated him.”
When a Westfield News reporter asked the couple, who were seen arm-in-arm outside the courtroom, whether they were dating, Hine acknowledged they are in a relationship.
Contant released Hine and Pagano on $2,500 personal surety each, which means they didn’t have to pay anything beyond the $500 cash bail they had posted following their arrest Friday.
Pagano’s court-appointed attorney Kathleen Cavanaugh stated that her client was an innocent victim.
Cavanaugh said that text messages will show that Pagano thought they she was driving Lisheness and Hine to Hartford to pick up a friend.
“She (Pagano) even texted Selina (Hine) saying ‘I don’t want any funny business,'” Cavanaugh said.
Further, Cavanaugh stated that while Lisheness allegedly placed the drugs under the hood her client was out of the car searching for a bathroom.
Hine and Pagano are due back in court for a pretrial hearing on October 28.
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
