State Rep. Anita Kulik is the latest legislator to call for the resignation of Magisterial District Justice Xander Orenstein in the wake of the stabbing death of a Pennsylvania State Police liquor enforcement officer by a suspect whom Orenstein released on nonmonetary bail in a case last year.
Anthony Quesen, 25, was arraigned Tuesday on a single count of criminal homicide in connection with the slaying of Benjamin Brallier, 44, of Kennedy Township.
According to court documents, Quesen also used the name Antonia Kaseim, and it was Kaseim who was arrested in June 2023 and charged with felony robbery and misdemeanor assault, recklessly endangering another person, evading arrest and disorderly conduct in connection with an incident that took place in Point State Park.
Kaseim’s gender was listed as unknown on the criminal complaint in that case.
According to court documents, Kaseim’s arraignment in Common Pleas Court – scheduled for Dec. 13 – never took place because Kaseim failed to show and his nonmonetary bail, set by Orenstein on June 13, was revoked on Dec. 29.
Kulik, whose 45th district includes the townships of Collier, Kennedy, Neville, Robinson and Stowe and the boroughs of Bridgeville, Carnegie, Coraopolis, McKees Rocks and Pennsbury Village, on Wednesday called for Orenstein’s resignation and a full investigation by the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court in the wake of Brallier’s death.
“Foremost, we must pause to mourn the tragic and untimely loss of Officer Brallier and keep his loved ones in our prayers,” Kulik said in a statement. “We owe it to Brallier to get to the bottom of the chain of events that led to the officer’s murder and a violent criminal on the streets.
“Orenstein had already been removed from handling criminal arraignments by the Allegheny County courts over reluctance to require cash bail for violent criminal cases, but this tragedy requires more scrutiny and accountability.”
Kulik called on Orenstein “to do the right thing and resign from service. Second, I am calling on the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court and the Judicial Conduct Board to open an investigation and leave no stone unturned to get the facts the people deserve.”
Kulik said that even if Orenstein resigns, the investigation must go forward “because we must discover how the system meant to protect the people was so badly broken.”
“This case requires in-depth examination to ensure our courts are protecting the people and delivering justice fairly,” Kulik said.
Kulik is one of several state legislators calling for Orenstein to resign. Rep. Tim O’Neal (R-Washington) said Wednesday he planned to introduce a resolution to impeach Orenstein.
“This killing could have happened anywhere, including Washington County,” O’Neal said in a statement. “The criminals Xander Orenstein has been turning loose without bail have been free to roam the entire region.”
Orenstein was barred earlier this year from hearing all arraignments after a suspect he released on nonmonetary bail failed to appear in court on charges stemming from a high-speed chase during which the suspect nearly hit two state troopers. The man later was rearrested in Florida.
Brallier was found on the Montour Trail Monday afternoon with stab wounds to his back, upper chest and left hand, according to a criminal complaint.
He was taken to Heritage Valley Sewickley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An investigation led authorities to Quesen, who was found late Monday night less than a half-mile from the crime scene in Moon Township and taken into custody.
He was arraigned Tuesday before Magisterial District Judge James J. Hanley Jr., who denied Quesen bail and ordered him to return to court at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1, for a preliminary hearing.
According to a criminal complaint associated with the 2023 case in Point State Park, a man told a state Department of Conservation officer who was on bike patrol that Kaseim was trying to grab him and was harassing his family while they were standing about 10 feet from the Monongahela River.
The victim in that incident told the officer that Kaseim grabbed the victim’s phone while he was trying to take a photo, but the victim was able to wrestle it away. However, the victim told police that Kaseim ripped the victim’s Fitbit Pulse off his right wrist and threw it into the Monongahela River.
The officer began chasing Kaseim and after Pittsburgh Police arrived, Kaseim jumped into the Allegheny River and was eventually taken into custody before being transported to UPMC Mercy for psychological evaluation.
“It should be noted that Kaseim provided another last name of Quesen during the incident,” the complaint states.
Be First to Comment