Man Ordered To Stand Trial For Neglecting Judge Of Elections Duties
NORTH VERSAILLES (KDKA) -- He's accused of neglecting his duty. A man in charge of opening up a polling place on Election Day simply didn't show up, and investigators revealed today that he gave them multiple versions of what happened before they got the truth.
Darrin Farmer, 55, was supposed to be judge of elections at the North Versailles Library on Election Day, but for three hours, as voters waited, he was no place to be found.
At his preliminary hearing, an investigator testified he drove his wife in their 2014 Chevy Impala to pick up refreshments for volunteers working the polls.
But the two got into an argument about his drinking the night before, according to what Farmer told the investigator and that he was suffering from depression.
He then dropped his wife off at the Walmart on Route 30 but never picked her up.
She told police she left her cell phone in the car and they traced the car through pings to Braddock then Swissvale.
According to one story, Farmer told police he had car trouble in Swisshelm Park, then said he was at a friends house.
Neither story panned out.
Eventually police determined he was using his car for jitney trips instead of working at the polling location.
His lawyer, though, argued that while voters may have been inconvenienced, they eventually voted, and the investigator who testified could not quantify voters who couldn't vote.
"To his knowledge, he didn't know of anyone who was unable to vote that day," said defense attorney Justin Ketchel, "therefore no crime was committed and all of the charges should have been dismissed."
But Senior District Judge Thomas Brletic disagreed, and Farmer was ordered to stand trial on charges including tampering with public records, obstructing the administration of law and failure to perform his duty.
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