Charges of burglary, terroristic threats and criminal mischief have been withdrawn in the case of an Arnold woman accused of trying to break into a New Kensington home.
The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office withdrew the charges Thursday at what was supposed to be a preliminary hearing before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. for Mayona Dania Harrington, 19. According to prosecutors, the alleged victims did not appear to testify.
“The officer filed charges based on information received from witnesses who did not appear at the preliminary hearing. We cannot proceed with the prosecution of this case without the testimony of these witnesses,” said Melanie Jones, district attorney spokeswoman.
In an email to TribLive after the charges were withdrawn, Harrington denied all of the charges.
According to police, Harrington was among a group of people who tried to break into a home along Leishman Avenue on Jan. 5. She was arrested and held without bond on Jan. 13.
The alleged victim, police say, told them Harrington threatened to shoot her and mentioned Officer Brian Shaw, the New Kensington police officer killed in the line of duty in November 2017 when he was shot while chasing a suspect from a traffic stop.
The shooter in that case, Rahmael Holt, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death.