HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Blair County judge has denied pre-trial motions for the man accused in December of escaping from the county prison, thereby keeping his jury trial on track to start Monday.

Judge Jackie Bernard, after hearing arguments to separate the escape, theft and drug-trafficking charges filed against Isaiah R. Tilghman Jr., 34, of Philadelphia, concluded that the concerns could be addressed by instructing the jury to consider the offenses independently.

“They’re capable of separating the allegations,” the judge decided after hearing defense attorney Kristen Anastasi ask for Tilghman’s charges to be separated and District Attorney Pete Weeks’ request to keep them joined.

In keeping them consolidated, Bernard proposed that the jury instructions could be written and delivered so the jurors understand “that we’re not saying you should find someone guilty because of what they did in the other offense.”

In seeking to separate Tilghman’s charges, Anastasi took the position that the jury’s evaluation of the escape charge will be influenced by their knowledge that Tilghman was in prison on drug-trafficking charges.

Weeks told Bernard that even if the escape charge is separated from the drug-trafficking charge, that information would still be relevant.

“In an escape case, a jury would be entitled to know what he escaped from,” Weeks said.

Anastasi later agreed, but added that in this case, the jurors will know more.

“They’ll also know he was in jail for drug charges,” she said.

The defense attorney also proposed separating the charges as a way to keep the escape case from being used to suggest Tilghman’s consciousness of guilt in the drug case.

Weeks responded that Anastasi may want to argue that Tilghman left the county prison because he didn’t like the accommodations. But Weeks added that he’s also entitled to argue that Tilghman escaped and fled to Philadelphia to avoid trial on the drug charges.

“This is not a case of Dr. Richard Kimball who has been sentenced and breaks out of prison to prove his innocence,” Weeks said in referring to “The Fugitive,” a movie and TV series. “The effect of his escape was to make him unavailable for prosecution.”

Bernard proposed that, even if she separated the cases, the same reasons to explain the escape will surface, including references to the prison’s conditions, mice and bugs. Prison Warden Abbie Tate has acknowledged an ongoing rodent problem this summer in the aged facility.

Bernard also turned down Anastasi’s request to suppress references to drugs and cash that police removed from a black trash bag they linked to Tilghman in May 2023, just before his arrest.

Charges indicate that a local hotel employee removed Tilghman’s personal items from a room and put them into the trash bag, then took the bag to his East Freedom residence.

Anastasi took the position that the police had no authority to search the bag containing significant amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.

Bernard suggested that the normal deadline for the suppression request would have been in November, prompting Anastasi to argue that she filed the motion Monday based on the information she had.

Bernard, however, agreed with Weeks, who took the position that the motion was late and that Tilghman’s conduct was a contributing factor since he left the prison in December and wasn’t arrested until March.

Tilghman is also accused of stealing a truck in Lakemont and using it to flee to Philadelphia.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.