By Kenneth Lipp and Dustin Slaughter
Update: Sources close to the case confirm that jury selection will begin tomorrow, and that the trial may begin as early as tomorrow afternoon. We’ve uploaded the court docket for Mr. Sabur’s case, which is viewable here.
There is much going on behind the scenes this week regarding Sabur’s trial, a lot of which we cannot confirm at this time. We will have updates for you when possible, however.
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Officer Jimmy Leocal of the Philadelphia Police Department faces the possibility of a warrant for his arrest being issued by Judge Christopher Wogan if he again fails to appear to testify in the Commonwealth’s case against Askia Sabur.
Askia Sabur is charged with Aggravated Assault against a police officer, Attempting to Disarm a Law Enforcement Officer, Simple Assault, Reckless Endangerment, and Resisting Arrest for an incident that occurred September 3, 2010 outside a Chinese restaurant in West Philadelphia. The incident, which was caught on video and uploaded to Youtube, ended with Sabur being taken to Mercy Hospital where he received six head staples, a neck brace, and treatment for a fractured left arm and multiple back injuries.
Charges against Sabur for assaulting Officer Leocal have already been dismissed due to Leocal’s failure to appear at Sabur’s preliminary hearing on November 17, 2010. Charges remain for the alleged assault on Officer Donyul Williams, who testified at the November hearing that Sabur had injured Leocal and attempted to take his baton and gun.
Jury selection in the case is expected to begin tomorrow, with a possible trial date as early as Wednesday. Officer Leocal has been subpoenaed by the defense and may be called to testify as a hostile witness. Sabur has been incarcerated since September of 2010.
We will bring you the latest on this trial as it progresses.
The Philly Declaration 
Officer Leocal needs to invoke the 5th amendment cause he hasn’t committed perjury yet. The city of Phila & the District Attorneys office may turn on him if he can’t keep his story straight. Run, Let Askia and his family get on with their lives.
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Reblogged this on The Ramblings of a Lesbian Brooklynite and commented:
They way they beat this man is outrageous.
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[…] coverage of Sabur’s trial from earlier this week, which includes Judge Wogan’s threat to issue a bench warrant for Officer Jimmy Leocal who failed to appear for a preliminary hearing in 2010. As a result of his absence, Sabur’s […]
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