Former Pa. officer found guilty of illegally using state’s police records system (2024)

WILLIAMSPORT — A former Williamsport police corporal has been found guilty of unauthorized use of the state JNET records system but not on three other charges.

Lycoming County jurors deliberated about two hours Friday before returning a split verdict on charges against Cpl. Eric B. Derr, 40, of Cogan Station.

He was acquitted on misdemeanor counts of unsworn falsification to authorities, tampering with public records and obstructing the administration of law.

He remains free on $10,000 unsecured bail pending sentencing.

The guilty part of the verdict will be appealed, defense attorney Robert A. Hoffa said.

The issue is whether Derr exceeded his authorization to use JNET. Deputy Attorney General Rebecca A. Elo argued he had by using it for personal reasons.

The issue had been raised and resolved before. Somerset County Senior Judge David C. Klementik, then assigned to the case, dismissed the charges in January 2022.

He found Derr had violated the rules for use of JNET but he had not exceeded his authorization to access the system. He pointed out Derr was not “hacking” to gain access because he was an authorized user.

A state Superior Court panel reinstated the charges, ruling that his authorization to use JNET stopped where official police work ended and personal use began.” The Supreme Court refused to accept an appeal.

“I think the Superior Court was wrong,” Hoffa said, citing another court ruling.

Derr, who testified in his own defense, admitted using the records system for personal reasons but claimed it was not for evil or malicious purposes.

Other members of the Williamsport police force were doing it, including a lieutenant who was president of the local lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, he said.

When he was asked if he believed he was doing anything wrong, he replied: “Absolutely not.” He was never disciplined for his use of JNET, he said.

His only discipline while on the force was a two-day suspension for violating procedure in a vehicle pursuit, he said.

Derr also testified he was never told he could not use a personal device to access JNET, which he did while on vacation.

He admitted he demonstrated JNET and shared personal information from it with non-law enforcement people who were ride-alongs.

He acknowledged he did not charge a woman whose name he ran 18 times and with whom he developed a sexual relationship although he knew she was driving while her license was suspended. “I never saw her driving,” he said.

In his closing argument, Hoffa claimed Derr was prosecuted “to make him appear as a piece of junk.”

He accused city police of “trying to do everything they could to make him look guilty.” He cited the 28 counts on unlawful use of a computer, each naming a female.

Hoffa called the Williamsport Bureau of Police “a disaster.” He accused it of having “a vendetta about him (Derr) and wanting him convicted.” That’s the way Williamsport runs its police, he said.

He referenced the testimony of retired city Officer Marvin Miller, who said officers had been disciplined for misuse of JNET but he never heard of anyone being charged criminally.

“Derr did whatever he wanted to,” was Elo’s rebuttal in her closing.

She cited him closing without obtaining a supervisor’s approval in a retail theft case months after the incident, writing the merchandise was found in the store.

Assistant Chief Jason Bolt had testified he interviewed the female who was not charged and she admitted stealing the merchandise.

Elo told jurors Derr failed to perform his official duties and intentionally did not enforce the law.

While he was entitled to use JNET as a police officer, he did not have the authority to use it for personal reasons, she said.

Derr, who resigned from the force in September 2021, explained he did so because he learned he was the subject of an internal investigation that he called a witch hunt.

The charges filed in 2020 accused Derr of using JNET 93 times between June 2015 and Dec. 11, 2019, to obtain unauthorized information, including pictures and telephone numbers.

The JNET system is for authorized police work and personal use is prohibited by law.

City police conducted an internal investigation into Derr and forwarded the results to then-District Attorney Ryan C. Gardner, now a judge. He referred the case to the attorney general’s office. Gardner’s brother is a city police officer.