Court records show Erie TV anchor near plea deal on charges she faked stalking threat
An Erie TV news personality is close to reaching a plea deal nearly 11 months after she was charged with falsely reporting to state police that she was a stalking victim.
The case against the defendant, Haley E. Potter, 25, who has worked as an anchor, reporter and producer with WICU-TV's Erie News Now, "appears to be close to resolution by plea but a few details need to be worked out," the Pittsburgh law firm representing Potter said in a May 3 email to the chambers of Erie County Judge John J. Mead, who is assigned the case.
The firm filed a copy of the email with a May 4 court motion in which the firm asked Mead to postpone Potter's trial, which had been scheduled for May 8. The new trial date is July 10, though the case is likely to end with a plea, according to court records.
Charges filed: Erie news anchor charged with fabricating stalking threat, police say
In another indication that the case is nearing a resolution, the defense, according to Mead's chambers, canceled a hearing that had been scheduled for Tuesday on Potter's request to get her cellphone back from state police investigators. Potter's lawyer first made that request in August.
What led police to file charges of false reports?
State police charged Potter on July 11. She is accused of filing a false complaint with state police in early April 2022, claiming that a person began stalking her in late February of that year. She alleged the stalking occurred via text messages that described her whereabouts and became sexual in nature.
According to probable cause affidavit attached to Potter's criminal complaint, she also told police that someone got into her apartment complex in Harborcreek Township in March 2022 and put a note under her door, which read, "Welcome home, Haley," after she had been away for a week; hacked her social media accounts and used them to send a sexually explicit message to her boyfriend on his Instagram account in April 2022; anonymously sent her flowers with the message, "Love watching you, You are sunshine!" in June 2022: and used her debit card to book a hotel room in Erie in late June 2022. The room went unclaimed.
Potter also said a man sent her a photo of her, according to the affidavit.
After executing a number of search warrants in the investigation, state police determined that Potter's debit card was used to send the flowers to her, and that the message sent to her boyfriend's Instagram account came from her cellphone, according to the affidavit and testimony at her preliminary hearing, in August. Potter also contacted PNC Bank to report fraudulent use of her debit card, according to the affidavit. The bank restored $414.61 to her account.
Preliminary hearing: Felony charges dropped against Erie TV anchor accused of fabricating claims of stalker
Under questioning, Potter confessed to sending the messages to herself, according to police testimony at the preliminary hearing. According to the affidavit of probable cause, Potter on July 8 "admitted to fabricating the stalker and being responsible for all of the messages/phone calls and fraudulent activity. The defendant misled the Pennsylvania State Police over the course of a three month investigation which wasted taxpayer resources and manpower."
Felony charges dismissed at preliminary hearing
Potter is charged with 12 misdemeanors, including those alleging false reports, identity theft, receiving stolen property, tampering with evidence and disorderly conduct. She is free on a recognizance bond.
Police originally charged Potter with 17 counts. They were 13 misdemeanors and four felonies — two related to forgery and two related to criminal use of a cellphone. Harborcreek District Judge Lisa Ferrick dismissed the four felonies and one misdemeanor count of access device fraud at Potter's preliminary hearing.
Potter's lawyer, Michael DeRiso, of Pittsburgh, argued for the dismissal of those charges due to lack of evidence.
DeRiso did not respond to an email seeking comment on the plea negotiations. In the motion he filed May 4 asking for the postponement of he trial — the motion that included the email — DeRiso wrote that he and the Erie County District Attorney's Office "are close to a negotiated resolution of these charges." The prosecution consented to the request to postpone the trial, according to the motion.
The assistant district attorney on the case, Rob Ferguson, could not be immediately reached for comment.
The news director for Erie News Now, Scott MacDowell, did not respond to an email seeking information on Potter's employment status at the TV station. As of Tuesday, the station's website listed her as a member of its news team.
Potter's LinkedIn account lists her current employment as an anchor and producer for Erie News Now. The account states that she started working at the station in June 2020, right after she graduated from Slippery Rock University.
Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Plea deal close for Erie TV anchor charged with faking stalking threat
