After 20 yrs’ beating 3 wives/kids, bail reduction denied

Bail reduction denied for Jeffrey Poliskiewicz, accused of beating estranged wife
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/easton/index.ssf/2009/04/bail_reduction_denied_for_jeff.html

by Colin McEvoy

Wednesday April 22, 2009, 1:44 PM

A Northampton County judge refused to lower the bail today for an Upper Mount Bethel Township man accused of beating his estranged wife.

Express-Times File Photo | SUE BEYERHeidi Markow of the Beginning Over Foundation talks as Melissa McShane and Michele Hawk
stand nearby during a recent protest at Northampton County Courthouse. McShane and Hawk are the wife and ex-wife of Jeff Polisikiewicz, respectively.http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/easton/index.ssf/2009/04/bail_reduction_denied_for_jeff.htmlPoliskiewicz pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor charges for beating his wife, Melissa McShane, in 2008. In exchange, the district attorney’s office agreed the felony charge.

The attorney for Jeffrey Poliskiewicz, 43, said because a felony aggravated assault charge was dropped against his client, his $300,000 bail should be reduced.

But Judge Edward Smith, who himself set the high bail amount in February, cited counseling reports that Poliskiewicz tended to go into “uncontrollable fits of rage” in reaction not only to his wife, but also his children.

“It would be incredibly reckless to reduce this bail,” Smith said before denying the motion.

 

 
Jeffrey Poliskiewicz

McShane urged Smith not to reduce the bail, testifying Poliskiewicz dragged her through a field into a barn, where he shoved her head into a wall, threw her onto hay and concrete and repeatedly beat her with steel-toed boots.

“He also said he was going to chop me up and put me in a bag,” McShane said tearfully. “I will never forget that day.”

McShane also described how Poliskiewicz assaulted his 13-year-old daughter by choking her and placing a hand over her mouth and nose.

Poliskiewicz, who has been incarcerated since February, appeared in court wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. He admitted he assaulted his daughter for not telling him the location of his son, who had fled the house earlier that evening.

“It was just an out of control circumstance and I’m deeply, deeply sorry, Your Honor,” he said, before starting to cry.

Defense attorney Nicholas Sabatine said Poliskiewicz has re-established contact and visitation with his daughter since the incident and has followed court orders not to have contact with McShane.

Sabatine also said pre-trial services recommended a bail of 10 percent of $10,000 after the guilty plea, and that Poliskiewicz was not a flight risk because he would likely face probation upon his sentencing.

But Smith said he could be a flight risk because the maximum possible sentence is 21 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 5.

McShane and Heidi Markow, founder of the Beginning Over Foundation and an advocate for McShane, left the courthouse immediately after the sentencing.

Markow previously criticized District John Morganelli for making the plea deal, claiming it would set Poliskiewicz free and that he was guilty of more than he was being prosecuted for.

“The truth is not being said,” Markow said before the bail hearing.

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