The Ludlow man charged with helping accused cop killer Ralph
“Bucky” Phillips hide in McKean County during the month of August
waived his preliminary hearing Tuesday in front of District Judge
Michael Kennedy in Kane.

Todd Allen Nelson, 31, is charged with hindering the
apprehension of Phillips for allegedly allowing him to stay at his
Ludlow residence between Aug. 17 and Aug. 28, according to court
records. Nelson’s hearing was to be held Monday in Kennedy’s
office.

District Attorney John Pavlock said Tuesday he could not comment
on the case involving Nelson, as it is an ongoing criminal
matter.

However, Pavlock did have something to say about Phillips – the
former fugitive’s legal troubles are extensive enough that McKean
County will not fork out money to bring him here for additional
prosecution.

“Based on the significant charges he’s facing in the federal
system, in Chemung County and Chautauqua County (both in New York),
it would appear to be unproductive to file additional charges at
this time,” Pavlock said.

Phillips is facing charges in the shooting of New York State
Trooper Sean Brown near Elmira, N.Y., on June 2; in the shooting of
Trooper Joseph Longobardo and Trooper Donald Baker Jr. on Aug. 31
in Pomfret, N.Y. Longobardo died on Sept. 3.

Phillips is also alleged to have broken into several homes and
camps, stolen several cars and burglarized a gun shop in Chautauqua
County.

Pennsylvania state police recovered 35 guns from that burglary
at Nelson’s Ludlow home on Aug. 30.

While it was unclear exactly what Nelson is accused of doing to
aid of Phillips, the subsection of the law he was charged with
reads as follows: “A person commits an offense if, with intent to
hinder the apprehension, prosecution, conviction or punishment of
another for crime … he harbors or conceals the other,” according to
the Pennsylvania Crimes Code.

Nelson’s next scheduled court appearance is in McKean County
Court on Dec. 7 for his formal arraignment. Nelson is represented
by Kane attorney Dennis Luttenauer.

Phillips was on the run for just over five months after breaking
out of an Erie County, N.Y., correctional facility on April 2. He
was captured in Warren County on Sept. 8.

National, state and local law enforcement agencies were involved
in the search for Phillips. His case had made television’s
“America’s Most Wanted,” he was named to the U.S. Marshal’s and
FBI’s most wanted lists and he was the subject of extensive media
coverage while the search continued.