Ex-officer convicted in Bucks arrest cover-up case

A former Bucks County sheriff's deputy was found guilty Friday of hitting a handcuffed suspect and lying about it in an arrest and cover-up that also cost three fellow officers their jobs.

The jury of seven men and five women determined that Sgt. Gary Browndorf hit Philip Romanek, 29, while serving an arrest warrant July 26, and lied about being kicked by the Levittown man.

But the jury found Browndorf not guilty of five counts of falsely imprisoning Romanek and falsely accusing him at his preliminary hearing.

Friends and relatives of both Browndorf and Romanek cried as the jurors were polled. Minutes later, outside the courtroom, a Browndorf supporter yelled, "You'll get your day; rest in hell," as Romanek hurried by.

The split verdict may mean the jury believed neither Browndorf nor Romanek and his girlfriend, Assistant District Attorney Robert James said.

"They believed the former deputies" who testified against Browndorf, James said. "They clearly believed that Romanek was assaulted, and they clearly believed that Browndorf lied about it."

Defense lawyer Nino Tinari called the verdict "disappointing" and "confusing."

"Usually, with the perjury verdict, all the other rulings fall into place," Tinari said while arranging for a $50,000 cash bond to keep Browndorf out of prison. "Apparently, they had difficulty determining the remaining charges."

The ruling "hurts everyone involved in law enforcement," Sheriff Edward "Duke" Donnelly said. "People look at us with jaundiced eyes."

The assault is less serious than the perjury conviction, James said, carrying a sentence of probation to seven years since Browndorf does not have a prior record. He faces a maximum of two years for the assault, based on sentencing guidelines.

Sentencing was scheduled for Sept. 19.

County detectives first looked into Browndorf's conduct after receiving a complaint from the mother of Romanek's girlfriend, Samantha Doneker, 36, of Bristol Township. The case was turned over to a county grand jury, which found that aggravated-assault charges Browndorf filed against the couple and his testimony at a preliminary hearing were false.

According to testimony this week and court documents, the deputies went to Doneker's apartment to serve a warrant to Romanek for a parole violation on a DUI conviction. Doneker denied that Romanek was there, but Deputy Daniel Boyle found him in the attic.

Boyle handcuffed Romanek behind his back and lowered him through a hole in a closet ceiling to Deputies James McAndrew and William Klein.

"Boyle testified that Romanek was 100 percent cooperative and did not resist arrest," James said.

Browndorf said that Romanek kicked him as he was being lowered, and that Doneker hit him. McAndrews and Klein testified that they did not see any kick and that they were the only officers in the closet.

After the arrest, Browndorf filed aggravated-assault charges against Romanek and Doneker, and each was held in the Bucks County Prison for several days.

Browndorf was suspended in September pending an investigation and was later fired, Donnelly said. In February, McAndrews, Klein, and Cpl. Dave Prudish were fired for failing to report the assault.

"I hope this ruling sends a message that when something happens, report it," the sheriff said, "not that we want it to ever happen again. There are no winners in these cases."