Trial postponed for two of three charged in connection with Valley Green thefts

The trial for two of three people arrested in June in connection with alleged thefts from vehicles at the parking lots near Valley Green Inn was postponed Wednesday after a hearing before Municipal Court Judge Karen Y. Simmons.

Attorneys for defendants Aja Whetstone and Kisha Duncan requested the delay.

Now, Whetstone and Duncan will stand trial on Oct. 6 on five counts including theft from a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property.

In a recent email to NewsWorks, Whetstone proclaimed her innocence to a crime that police reportedly observed.

Duncan’s attorney, Stuart L. Haimowitz, told the judge he had yet to receive a sworn statement that Whetstone’s co-defendant Daniel Duncan made to investigators.

Haimowitz labeled the statement as being “exculpatory.”

The back story

Whetstone, 32, of Sharon Hill, and Duncan, 35, of Lansdowne, were arrested along with Duncan, 33, of West Philadelphia, on June 4 after plainclothes officers from the 14th District set up surveillance at the parking lots off Forbidden Drive.

Police say Whetstone and the Duncans arrived in a 2007 Lincoln around 6:35 p.m. Duncan, who faces charges for previous thefts in the same area, allegedly exited the Lincoln and used a screwdriver to pry open the top of the driver-side door of a parked car.

Duncan, who remains in custody at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility will face charges on Tuesday in connection with the June 4 incident as well as for previous offenses.