• Former Philadelphia police officer Richard DeCoatsworth,
28, withdrew a plea agreement that would have likely allowed him to leave
prison with time served
• He is accused of forcing two women to take heroin before
raping them
• DeCoatsworth sat next to Michelle Obama during the 2009
State of the Union address
• In 2007 he was hailed as hero after being shot during a
traffic stop but still chased after his attacker
By Jonathan Block
A former Philadelphia police
officer once who sat next to the First Lady during President Obama's 2009 State
of the Union Address has withdrawn a plea to reduced charges that he forced two
women to take heroin at gunpoint before raping them.
'I'd like an opportunity to
prove my innocence,' Richard DeCoatsworth, 28, told a judge today. 'If I were a
guilty man, the offer the commonwealth presented would be a good one.'
At the hearing, the judge also
said DeCoatsworth is too dangerous to be freed while awaiting trial, which is
scheduled for November.
Former Philadelphia police
officer Richard DeCoatsworth (right), accused of raping two women at gunpoint,
was seated next to First Lady Michelle Obama (left) and Dr Jill Biden (right)
during the president's televised February 2009 address to Congress
If DeCoatsworth had accepted
the plea, he would have likely left prison with time served, about 10 months.
However, he now faces several decades in prison if convicted of the most
serious charge.
In June, a grand jury indicted
him on charges of rape, sexual assault, intent to possess or distribute drugs,
human trafficking, promoting prostitution, witness intimidation and related
offenses in a May 16, 2013 incident involving two women.
According to court documents,
the former cop met the alleged victims at a party and took them to a house in
north Philadelphia where the alleged incidents took place.
Heroic actions: DeCoatsworth
was invited to attend the speech by Vice President Joe Biden after he was shot
in the face but still managed to chase after his attacker
DeCoatsworth was hailed as a
hero after he was shot in the face during a traffic stop in September 2007 but
still managed to chase after his attacker, who was later sentenced to 36 to 72
years in prison.
'The shot to the face changed
his life forever. It really altered him,' his lawyer, A. Charles Peruto, told
the Associated Press. 'He had his face reconstructed. The pain has been
immeasurable.'
Valiant: A bullet struck
DeCoatsworth in the mouth during a routine traffic stop in September 2007, but
he still went in pursuit of his assailant before collapsing and radioing for
help
As a result of his heroic
actions, DeCoatsworth was invited by Vice President Joe Biden to attend the
president's televised February 2009 address to Congress and sat with first lady
Michelle Obama.
In a June bail hearing,
Assistant District Attorney Joseph McGlynn told a judge that when SWAT teams
searched DeCoatsworth's home two days after the alleged rapes it appeared he
was about to 'take his last stand' as they found three loaded guns - a shotgun,
Glock and revolver - as well as prescription pills and drug paraphernalia.
Evidence also included text
messages sent between DeCoatsworth and his associates from May 7 to 17, 2013
which appeared to be discussing drugs and the prostitution trade.
McGlynn said the former cop had
become a 'dangerous and scary person, someone the public needs to be protected
from.'
Defense attorney L. George
Parry argued that DeCoatsworth was an 'addict' because of pain pills he began
taking after getting shot while on duty. He also pointed out that he owns his
guns legally and one of the women was a prostitute when he first solicited her.
History of violence: Before
leaving the force, DeCoatsworth was involved in two others incidents in April
and September of 2009 where he shot two suspects
John Geer
