A Bradford man will now face two criminal cases in McKean County Court after going before District Judge Dominic Cercone on Wednesday.
Joseph R. McBride, 42, waived one case to court, while a hearing was held for another.
McBride was charged with selling a stolen firearm. A hearing was held in that case, and all charges were bound to court. He waived a preliminary hearing on a second case in which he is alleged to have used a vehicle without permission, then crashed it.
According to the criminal complaint, at 11:50 p.m. Feb. 9, McBride met with a confidential informant with the McKean County Drug Task Force on Summer Street, Bradford, to sell a .40 caliber Glock handgun in exchange for $200 cash. The sale was allegedly arranged by cell phone.
Regarding the second case, court records indicate that at 11:03 p.m. Jan. 8, Bradford City Police were dispatched to State Street for a report of a vehicle that drove through a backyard, hitting a fence, house and another vehicle.
A Jeep driven by McBride allegedly hit a chain link fence, leaving the fence posts on the ground; struck a house at 78 State St., taking a chunk of siding out; and hitting a Ford Escape, causing minor damage to the rear bumper, before driving away, the criminal complaint indicated.
When police located the Jeep, they found it had front bumper and hood damage, the driver’s side fender was completely gone, the passenger side front fender was half ripped off the vehicle and the rear passenger tail light was broken. The owner of the Jeep told police that she hadn’t given anyone permission to use it and had not realized it was missing.
Police obtained video showing McBride driving the Jeep around Bradford minutes before the hit and run accident; one video clip showed him pull into the Chestnut Street Uni-Mart, get out of the vehicle and urinate next to the building, according to court records.
McBride is charged in one case with possession of firearm prohibited and receiving stolen property, both second-degree felonies; firearms not to be carried without a license and criminal use of communication facility, both third-degree felonies; and firearm ownership-duties of other persons, a second-degree misdemeanor.
In the other case he’s charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a second-degree misdemeanor; accident involving damage to attended vehicle/property, a third-degree misdemeanor; and the following summaries: driving while operating privileges are suspended or revoked, reckless driving, operating a vehicle without a valid inspection, no headlights and disorderly conduct.
McBride remains incarcerated in McKean County Jail in lieu of a total $110,000 bail for the two cases.
