Man Tried To Intimidate Witness From Chester County Prison: Police

WEST CHESTER, PA — An inmate at Chester County Prison faces new charges after police said he once again tried to intimidate a witness in the case against him through letters and phone calls.

Darrell Thomas, 40, of Cochranville, sent multiple letters and attempted to call his victim, who lives in Oxford, numerous times, police said.

Because the victim has a protection from abuse order out against Thomas, contact of any form was prohibited, regardless of what he was trying to say.

The exact correspondence remains unclear, but it was enough for the Chester County District Attorney's Office with numerous counts of witness intimidation, stalking, and harassment.

It's at least the second time that Thomas has been caught and charged with attempting to intimidate a witness, as he did nearly the exact same thing in Jan. 2023. Those charges were ultimately pled down to harassment.

Thomas has been imprisoned since he was captured in Oct. 2022 on charges of assault and burglary related to a Sept. 2021 incident in Oxford. Police said Thomas entered a home, grabbed a woman by her neck, and pointed a black semi-automatic handgun at her while threatening to kill her.

The woman's child had called 911, and police said Thomas went into the child's bedroom and took the phone away, before stealing the woman's house keys and car key.

He was arraigned on the latest charges on March 13, and a preliminary hearing for the new charges is set for April 2.