Exclusive: What is next for suspended Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas

SOMERSET ― Suspended Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey L. Thomas has requested a new trial and a modification and reconsideration of his sentence in a post-sentence motion.

Filed Monday, the court document, submitted by his defense team, lists the reasoning behind those requests and why the court should consider and grant them.

The Thomas defense team, Ryan Tutera and Eric Jackson Lurie, of Pittsburgh, claims the jury had not been able to consider evidence that would have changed their verdict and therefore the outcome of the proceedings.

Thomas was sentenced Aug. 17 to incarceration in state prison for 27 to 84 months, reduced by three months for time served in county jail awaiting sentencing, in a case where he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her Windber home Sept. 18, 2021. A jury found him guilty of strangulation, criminal trespass-entry, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment and simple assault.

Why: Jury finds Somerset County DA Jeffrey Thomas guilty on six of nine charges

According to the motion, the jury erred in returning its verdict because the evidence presented was contrary to the verdict rendered.

New trial requested

If the court grants a new trial, a rare occurrence, that means the judge will vacate the judgment and order a new trial. At the retrial, some or all of the matters from the concluded trial can be reexamined by the prosecution and the defense before a different jury.

More: Suspended District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas sentenced to prison in sexual assault case

Some of the specific reasons for the court to grant Thomas a new trial brought by the defense team are as follows in the court document.

1. The jury heard conflicting testimony from the victim related "to the nature and extent of her relationship with the defendant." She also gave "inconsistent reports of what occurred" that night.

2. Information obtained, some from the prosecution through discovery, was dismissed by the court as a mere "conspiracy" theory and a sideshow. The evidence dealt with an overheard conversation of plans to "set up" Thomas, according to the court document.

3. "The jury was erroneously prevented from hearing about the DNA evidence found on (the victim's) underwear she wore on the night which did not belong to the defendant."

"The defendant avers that he did not have a fair trial in light (of the reasons stated) and that justice necessitates a new trial," according to the motion.

Ask to modify and/or reconsider sentence

"The sentence imposed was unreasonable, manifestly excessive, contrary to the dictates of the Sentencing Code, and an abuse of discretion ..." according to the motion.

"The sentencing court focused solely upon the seriousness of the offenses to the exclusion of all else," Tutera and Lurie wrote.

Prior to the sentencing, the court did not consider the specific need for protection of the public in relation to the defendant's actions. The gravity of the offense was not discussed as it relates to the impact on the life of the victim of the crimes. The defendant's need for rehabilitation was not noted, they said.

New defense affirmed

"We were so certain of Jeff's innocence that we hate to walk away", said Tutera in a phone interview. Another lawyer's perspective, however, is what is needed, he said.

Tutera and Lurie's last legal contribution to this case is the post-sentence motion they filed to preserve issues for further legal maneuvering by another attorney

Attorney Patrick Nightingale, of Pittsburgh, hired for the next phase of the Thomas case, will review the record and "appropriately raise issues" addressed in the post-sentence motion, Tutera said.

The case developed over more than two years took a lot out of all four attorneys who "battled" for the state and for the defense.

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"It feels like a chapter has been closed," Tutera said. "I was saddened."

Tutera and Lurie, who own their own firms in Pittsburgh, have worked together on many cases.

"In all of our combined years as counselors, we always give 100%," Lurie said.

The Thomas case challenged but held at that figure.

"It was a very contentious and unique case. We really had to battle for everything we got," Lurie said.

And what they didn't get could be part of the appeal.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Exclusive: What's next for suspended Somerset County DA Jeffrey Thomas