Charges in Chester County fatal stabbings

Two arrests have been made in connection with the fatal stabbings Saturday night of two men at a Chester County party.

James L. Jones, 29, a West Grove resident with previous addresses in Coatesville, West Chester and Philadelphia, was taken into custody yesterday and arraigned in Avondale district court on charges that include first-degree murder, third-degree murder, conspiracy and related offenses, court records said.

Stephen Andrew Daddezio, 17, of the same West Grove address, was charged today with aggravated assault, conspiracy and related offenses, court records said. He was not turned over to juvenile authorities because juvenile court jurisdiction excludes such serious offenses.

The investigation into the homicides of Cuahuctemoc Bedolla, 27, and Jose Rodriguez, 29, both of West Grove, described by authorities as a preplanned attack, began when New Garden Township officers responded to Jennersville Regional Hospital in West Grove at 11 p.m. Saturday on a report that Bedolla was critically injured from apparent knife wounds. He was flown to Christiana Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

Investigators then visited the 1600 block of Baltimore Pike in Avondale, a mixed residential-industrial area dominated by mushroom houses where Bedolla had attended a party. Witnesses told police a fight broke out after 10 p.m. among the attendees and some uninvited guests; during a search of nearby property, police found the body of Rodriguez.

According to court records, both victims had criminal records. Bedolla was on probation after pleading guilty to drug charges in June 2010 and serving a sentence of 30 days to a year in prison. In 2007, he pleaded guilty to a weapons charge, and his 2- to 23-month sentence included a provision that he avoid membership in any gang involved in criminal activity, court records said.

Rodriguez pleaded guilty in November 2006 to forgery and theft charges that resulted in a 3- to 23-month prison sentence. He also had two convictions for using a false ID in 2005 and 2006, as well as a guilty plea to indecent assault of a person younger than 16 that led to an 18-month to 5-year jail term in 2003, court records said.

Court records show that Jones was arrested in September 2010 on a loud-music charge in Coatesville that was subsequently dismissed. A September 2010 arrest in West Goshen Township on charges that included terroristic threats and reckless endangerment also led to dismissal of the charges.

Jones is being held at Chester County Prison since bail is not available to murder defendants. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 16, court records said. Daddezio is awaiting his preliminary arraignment.

"This investigation is very much ongoing, and I commend the New Garden Police Department and the Chester County Detectives for their hard work in attempting to solve these murders," said Chester County First Assistant District Attorney Patrick Carmody.

Anyone with information about the murders or the party is asked to call New Garden Township Police Sgt. Joseph Nangle at 610-268-2907, Ext. 100, or the Chester County Detectives at 610-344-6866.