A Cumberland County jury today convicted a Pennsylvania state trooper of obstructing justice in trying to get a county assistant district attorney to drop child molestation charges against a woman who the trooper said was his lover.
However, the jury acquitted Trooper Barry R. Tangert Jr. of threatening and exerting improper influence over a public servant. He was also acquitted of retaliation against a prosecutor.
Tangert faces up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine when he is sentenced on March 29 before Judge Kevin Hess, said Nils Frederiksen, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office which brought the case against Tangert.
Tangert's lawyer Bart Holmes had said in closing arguments that while Tangert had a conflict of interest and may have violated state police policy, neither are crimes and Tangert never threatened prosecutor Jaime Keating.
Holmes said Tangert never told Keating he planned to arrest him but that Keating learned of this through a phone call from one of Tangert's supervisors. Tangert didn't follow through with arresting Keating, Holmes said.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Jonelle Eshbach countered that Tangert used his position as a state police officer to get access to Keating and influence his decision-making.
She referred to Keating's testimony, in which Tangert told him he would "do something drastic" as being enough to cause Keating concern, even if Tangert didn't directly threaten him.
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