DA: Drug suspect, probation worker intimidated witness
In a YouTube music video titled "Thug Life," Kenneth "War" Wylie, 25, of Coatesville, acts out the slaying of a prosecution witness, shooting him dead in the street.
In a YouTube music video titled "Thug Life," Kenneth "War" Wylie, 25, of Coatesville, acts out the slaying of a prosecution witness, shooting him dead in the street.
And in real life, Wylie and his girlfriend, Chanel Turner, 23 - a county probation employee - both approached a witness who was to testify against Wylie in a drug case, according to the Chester County District Attorney's Office.
Turner found the witness in the Chester County courthouse and told him not to come to an October court hearing; Wylie allegedly followed the witness and tried to stare him down. Both were charged with felony conspiracy and intimidation Oct. 30, the District Attorney's Office said.
Turner was arrested then. Wylie, against whom charges were refiled Nov. 6, has been on the lam.
"This incident, located within the Chester County Justice Center and involving a county employee, is a particularly brazen attempt to obstruct justice," District Attorney Thomas Hogan said.
The case is an example of a "don't-tell" culture that has persisted in Coatesville for decades, he said.
"Right now, we're seeing a flare-up," he added. "It really tears up the soul of the community itself."
Hogan pointed to homicide cases that remain unsolved because people are afraid to talk to law enforcement.
Wylie and others on his behalf also sent the witness electronic messages, which the witness told prosecutors were meant to intimidate him, Hogan said.
Turner, who was fired from her receptionist job in the probation office, is out on bail. Her arraignment is set for Dec. 23.
Police continue searching for Wylie, Hogan said.
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