More than 30 years ago, an investigating grand jury last sat to hear and deliberate evidence in Westmoreland County.
That was in the 1980s when prosecutors were exploring allegations of law enforcement misconduct in North Huntingdon. After careful review, the grand jury recommended charges against the police chief and others in a ticket-fixing scheme.
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced in 2023 she would bring back the use of an investigative grand jury to help move some tough cases forward.
We know the grand jury was effective in at least three instances since it was seated in April 2024. Eleven months later, the first charges were filed. Larry Nix II, 41, of Washington County was charged with the December 2022 homicide of James Michael Hayes, 31.
That was followed in September by charges for Davi J. Roman, 29, of New Kensington, connected to two fatal overdoses and smuggling drugs into the Westmoreland County Prison.
In December came the final charges recommended by the grand jury. Former Ligonier Valley police Chief John Berger stands accused of a long list of felonies and misdemeanors — including bribery. The grand jury says he obtained pills from a drug dealer and took narcotics from his police department’s drug take-back box — something meant to eliminate drugs from the community. A second man also was charged in the case.
Ziccarelli said the $36,000 spent on the grand jury process was “priceless,” and she hopes to see it used more frequently.
“We needed this resource,” she said.
An investigative grand jury is an important and necessary tool of the courts. In these cases, it seems to have broken a legal logjam. But it is too early to trumpet success.
They are just the start of journeys through the courts — and the jury that matters is not the one that recommends charges but the one that decides on a verdict.
The burden for a grand jury is not the same as a trial jury. A grand jury explores questions and hears no defense. A trial jury weighs a case from all sides.
With that in mind, the work of a grand jury may be considered a success even when it doesn’t return charges. Deciding there is not enough evidence to pursue a case is as important as finding there is sufficient proof to move forward. Justice is not just arrests. It is answers, whether we like them or not.
Investigative grand juries also are not intended to be used in all crimes. They are a tool to pick away at public corruption or organized crime. That is a compelling reason for their use. It explains the last Westmoreland grand jury and the one just ending.
But they aren’t one-size-fits-all. They are a specialized mechanism with a specific purpose.
Employed cautiously, they serve justice. Deployed casually, they may not return the same result.