Restaurant notes: Jolly Weldon cleared of criminal charges
Judge finds him not guilty.
Restaurateur Jolly Weldon was found not guilty today of threatening his onetime business partner's father outside his former piano bar on Chestnut Street.
The case dates back from last August, when Weldon showed up at 2006 Chestnut St., then home of Jolly's Dueling Piano Bar, and tried to get in. But standing outside, smoking a cigarette, was Timothy Smith Sr., father of his onetime business partner Brendan Smith and the owner of the building.
Timothy Smith Sr. testified that Weldon started cursing at him and threatened to kill him and his family. Bar employees restrained Weldon. Municipal Court Judge Jimmie Moore was shown a silent video that showed the encounter.
The case against Weldon -- who was formally charged with terroristic threats, harassment, and stalking -- fell apart quickly when Weldon's attorney, Michael Engle, pointed out that Smith had waited a month to report the incident to police. Smith told the judge that he had returned to his home in South Carolina the next day, prompting Engle to ask if there were phones in South Carolina.
Weldon, who since was was evicted from 2006 Chestnut St., has since moved his business to the Academy House at 1420 Locust St.