CHESTER -- Chester County's chief magistrate decided
Friday there was not enough evidence to charge Sheriff Robby Benson with
criminal domestic violence in connection with an incident involving his
wife.
Magistrate Dianne Moore met Friday morning with a prosecutor from the
state Attorney General's office, a State Law Enforcement Division
investigator and Benson's attorney. She decided not to approve a
warrant, according to Benson's attorney, Michael Hemlepp.
"I did not feel like the evidence presented to me was to the level
necessary to issue a warrant," Moore said. "There was no probable
cause."
Hemlepp said he was satisfied with the judge's decision.
"My client and I are pleased that the judicial system worked the way
it was intended," Hemlepp said.
Trey Walker, a spokesman for state Attorney General Henry McMaster
said, "This is a sad and shocking reminder of the inequities victims of
domestic violence face in magistrate courts across our state every day."
The Attorney General's office will continue to vigorously prosecute
domestic violence cases, Walker said. Domestic violence is the state's
No. 1 crime problem, he said.
Wife charged in car break-ins
Moore's decision came three days after a Chester County grand jury
indicted Benson's wife, Marcy Benson, 34, on a charge of breaking into
his vehicle with the intent to steal.
Friday's meeting with the chief magistrate followed a March 7
incident at a Wendy's restaurant on J.A. Cochran By-Pass, where Marcy
worked.
An incident report was filed three months ago. That report was first
released to The Herald on Friday after numerous requests to the
sheriff's office, SLED and the Attorney General's office.
When a deputy arrived at Wendy's on March 7 at 9:50 a.m., Benson's
wife had cuts on the palm of her left hand and right knee, the report
said.
Marcy Benson told the deputy she and her husband met behind Wendy's
restaurant to talk about their marriage problems, the report said. The
conversation became heated and turned into an argument.
Robby Benson told his wife he didn't want to continue the
conversation and tried to leave, the report said. But Marcy Benson
didn't want her husband to leave and blocked him from getting into his
vehicle, she told the deputy.
Marcy Benson said her husband grabbed her, threw her out of the way
and caused her to fall and injure herself, the report said.
Neither Marcy Benson nor her attorney could be reached for comment on
Friday.
In another incident report filed with the Chester County Sheriff's
Office on March 28, the sheriff said his wife had been told not to call
him at work, but she continued to do so several times on his direct
line. The report doesn't specify who told her not to call Robby Benson.
Marcy Benson had been told by the sheriff to speak only with his
attorney and to stop calling his work phone, cell phone and his mother's
phone, the report said. The sheriff wanted no contact with his wife, the
report said.
Marcy Benson was indicted on Tuesday after items were taken from
Robby Benson's car over several weeks, according to the indictment and
an incident report filed with the sheriff's office. The stolen items
included a cell phone, bank receipt, a folder with legal papers and
other items, according to the report.
Marcy Benson was arrested April 25, the same day she was seen
removing items from the sheriff's vehicle at his residence, according to
the report. Among the items recovered were a duplicated Ford key, a list
of intercom numbers for the sheriff's office and the sheriff's 2004 W-2
form.
Denyse Clark • 329-4069
dclark@heraldonline.com
