Judge Xander Orenstein under fire for releasing Montour Trail stabbing suspect Anthony Quesen in prior assault case
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pennsylvania magistrate judge Xander Orenstein is under fire for releasing Anthony Quesen, the suspect in Monday's deadly Montour Trail stabbing in a prior assault case.
Quesen has been charged with homicide, accused of stabbing Benjamin Brallier, an off-duty Liquor Control Enforcement agent with the Pennsylvania State Police. Brallier was out for a run along the trail Monday when he was stabbed to death.
Monday's deadly attack was not Quesen's first run-in with the law. Last summer, Quesen was accused of robbing someone at Point State Park.
Court documents revealed that Orenstein set a non-monetary bail, which was revoked when Quesen failed to show up for hearings.
In the wake of Brallier's killing, Allegheny County Councilman Sam DeMarco has issued a statement calling for Orenstein to either resign or for the state legislature to remove them from the bench by impeachment.
"We have long feared that Judge Orenstein's reckless pattern of letting dangerous suspects back on the street would cost a life," DeMarco said. "Now it has. And Xander Orenstein must be removed from the bench before the public loses all faith in the justice system."
Republican state Sen. Devlin Robinson, who is running for reelection, called on the House to begin impeachment proceedings against Orenstein.
Democratic state Rep. Anita Kulik is also calling on Orenstein to resign and a "full investigation by the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court."
When asked why they issued no bail in the prior assault case, Orenstein directed all media inquiries to court administrators, saying they don't make statements about ongoing cases, which has been their policy since being elected.
Courts spokesperson Joseph Asturi also provided no comment, only saying that Orenstein handles landlord/tenant disputes, traffic cases, and criminal cases.
Past criticism of Judge Orenstein's use of non-monetary bail
Orenstein was removed from hearing arraignments earlier this year by Allegheny County President Judge Susan Evashavik DiLucente because of scrutiny over no-cash bail decisions.
The judge's actions came after a fugitive warrant was issued for Hermas Craddock, who failed to appear at a bond modification hearing earlier this week.
Despite a lengthy criminal record, Orenstein had released Craddock on a non-monetary bond after he was accused of leading Pennsylvania State Police troopers on a high-speed chase down Route 28, nearly ramming two cruisers and tossing a weapon from his car. Craddock was ultimately taken into custody after escaping to Florida.
Craddock was the second high-profile defendant who would be a no-show for one of Orenstein's cases.
Orenstein also released New York City native Yan Carlos Cepeda on no-cash bail after his arrest for allegedly trafficking more than a kilogram of cocaine. The Allegheny County Sheriff's Office said they spent $30,000 sending detectives to New York three times to look for Cepeda after he failed to show up at his preliminary hearing.
Cepeda was arrested once again in New York City and was ruled to be held without bail by a different judge after being taken into custody.
Law enforcement descends on Montour Trail on Wednesday
Law enforcement conducted a massive search on Wednesday of the area where Brallier was killed.
Officers from multiple police agencies began searching the Montour Trail around 8 a.m., looking in the woods, on the trail and other places where the trail crosses Hassam Road. The officers searched until noon.
It was not clear what they were searching for, but investigators were seen carrying brown evidence bags from the scene.
