Melissa Bailey Photo
After West Hills Alderman Darnell Goldson made his seventh appearance in court Wednesday on a trespassing charge, the state agreed to drop the case.
The action took place in a brief appearance Wednesday morning before Judge Earl Richards at New Haven Superior Court on Elm Street. For the seventh time, Goldson showed up there to try to shake a third-degree criminal trespass charge stemming from what he called a false arrest.
Goldson’s case began on Feb. 4. Police charged Goldson that day with trespassing after he took pictures of illegally stored old cars in the front yard of a West Hills Road home. Goldson said he was just doing his job, responding to neighbors’ complaints about a nuisance; and he denied ever setting foot on the property. Click here and here to read background on the case.
The case was continued until Wednesday so that the prosecution could talk to the complainant, Corey Pollard, about whether he wanted to continue to press charges. Pollard had a separate court appearance scheduled, as a defendant — on third-degree burglary and larceny charges. In a reversal of position, Pollard told prosecutor Joe Lamotta that he no longer wished to press charges against Goldson, according to Goldson’s lawyer, David Kinney.
Kinney and Goldson emerged from a brief hearing before Judge Richards and declared victory. The judge agreed to nolle the case, meaning that the charge would be wiped off of Goldson’s record if he doesn’t get into any more trouble with the complainant in the next 13 months, Kinney said.
“I think it’s resolved satisfactorily,” Kinney declared. Since Goldson’s arrest, city officials have ordered Pollard to move the illegally stored cars, and slapped him with a new tax bill.
Goldson declared the case “a waste of state resources.”
“The prosecutors kind of decided they had to step gently around this because I am a political figure,” he reckoned. Prosecutor Lamotta could not be reached for comment.
Goldson said he’s glad the case is over, but he’s not finished yet. He plans to file a complaint with the police department over what he called a false arrest. The arrest was based on testimony by Pollard that Goldson stepped on his property. Goldson said he plans to sue Pollard “for filing a false police report.”
“I’m not done with this yet,” he said.
Goldson said his quest for justice is “not about me — it’s about the whole system and how it operates.”
“I was lucky,” Goldson explained. “I had witnesses and an attorney, and I had the resources to do that.”
“A lot of people walk in here every day who are not as lucky as I am,” he said.
Great news! Well deserved. Good Alderman with great intentions!