The Joshua Stewart Story
“Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence.” - Henri Frederic Amiel
On Monday, February 26, 2007, Joshua Stewart was a 16 year old, African-American, college bound sophomore at New Castle High School (JOSH STEWART’S REPORT CARD) with two local paper routes. Josh had no history of drugs, no criminal record . . . not even so much as a school detention. Joshua’s extracurricular activities consisted of dance, the theater and the arts.
On Tuesday, February 27, 2007, 16 year old Erica Million ingested oxycodone during school hours at New Castle High. She was taken from the school by ambulance, then life-flighted to Pittsburgh, where she died on Sunday, March 4, 2007.
Erica and Josh barely knew one another, as Erica had just reentered the school district approximately three weeks earlier. As fate would have it, Josh and Erica were seated next to one another in one class.
EARLY TIMELINE
Search Warrant Issued – Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007, at approximately 1:30 pm, Erica was transported by ambulance from New Castle High School.
By 2:30 pm the New Castle Police were at the home of Joshua Stewart; Joshua had not arrived home from school yet.
At 4:00 pm Officer Chris Bouye was dispatched to the home to take digital pictures. These pictures were aired on the local news channels.
At 5:21 pm a Search Warrant and Affidavit of Probable Cause was issued by Magistrate Rishel for the Stewart home; Item 4 of the Affidavit of Probable Cause listed 80 mg tablets of oxycodone as the drug detailed by the confidential informant as the tablets (Erica) ingested.
At 5:58 pm Narcotics Officer Anthony Lagnese, Juvenile Officer Cindy Eve, along with Officers Chris Bouye and Buswell served the search warrant.
After the search, which lasted several hours, Officer Chris Bouye called into the New Castle Police Station. Joshua’s father heard him say, “We DON’T have a match.” Josh’s mother heard the comment, “We DON’T have a match,” repeated several minutes later. No 80 mg tablets were found in the home.
The basis for the search warrant was from a statement that Juvenile Officer Cindy Eve, along with New Castle High School Principal, John Sarandrea and New Castle School Superintendent, George Gabriel took from a student from 1:30 – 2:30 pm on Tuesday, February 27, 2007. Students were questioned without the knowledge or consent of their parents during the remaining one-hour of school. They (Eve/Sarandrea/Gabriel) claim that a confidential informant (referred to as CI for remainder of this document) came forward with information such that “The CI observed Josh Stewart and a female student. The CI advised that (Josh) Stewart was upset with (female student) because she had given (Erica) Million some of (Josh) Stewart’s pills without receiving payment” (New Castle Police Affidavit of Probable Cause). Again, the CI identified them as 80 mg Oxycodone tablets.
Although the CI claimed that a female student sold the pills to Erica Million, the female student’s home was never searched; no charges were ever filed for the female student. Notably the female student strongly denied that she and Josh spoke that day and she was never questioned again because the school, police and prosecution said this event never happened . . . and yet it was the basis for a search warrant for the home of Josh Stewart, where no 80 mg oxycodones were found.
THE STORY CHANGES
The next day, Wednesday, February 28, 2007 the story changes. Male student #1 claims Josh Stewart sold Erica Million 13 pills in Spanish class during a test. The school does not have surveillance of this Spanish classroom; no other students saw or heard anything. The Spanish teacher, although monitoring the room during the test, never saw or heard anything. She was standing at the far side of the room by the row in which Erica was seated but saw no such transaction. As per the seating assignments, male student #1 was seated three rows to right and two rows to the front of Joshua and Erica.
SEATING CHART OF SPANISH CLASS
Joshua Stewart claims one thing passed through his and Erica’s hands, that being a set of Spanish flash cards that the Spanish teacher had instructed Joshua to copy, as Joshua had been absent the previous day. A set of flash cards WAS found in Erica’s purse, just as Josh had stated.
One student knew exactly what kind of pills were in Erica’s purse.
One student knew exactly how many pills were in Erica’s purse.
One student claimed to see and hear a transaction.
One student accused Josh Stewart of delivering the pills.
This same student was permitted to use the restroom unattended before being questioned by the police, Lt. Cindy Eve, New Castle High School Principal, John Sarandrea and New Castle School Superintendent, George Gabriel on the day of the incident.
This same student claimed to be Erica’s best friend.
This same student claimed to hang out with Erica every weekend.
Although male student #1 sat three rows in front and two rows to the right of both Josh and Erica, he claims to have seen and heard the entire transaction. He claims he was able to identify the pills accurately as “oxys.” According to the New Castle School Board Hearing Transcript, when asked, “How do you know those drugs (oxys),” male student #1 responded “From what my parents and Mr. Sarandrea and people have told me.”
One year later, at Joshua Stewart’s Juvenile Criminal Hearing on March 25, 2008, seven-year narcotics expert, Officer Anthony Lagnese, said that from that same distance as male student #1 claimed, he (Lagnese) was not able to identify the pills as oxys.
All of the other students in this Spanish class, along with the Spanish teacher, either were not asked to testify or refused to testify; none claimed that they saw or heard anything in Spanish class. The Spanish teacher was carefully monitoring the room during the alleged transaction, because a test was in progress.
According to Lt. Cynthia Eve’s Supplemental Report of April 25, 2007, Page 1, New Castle School Principal, John Sarandrea, “called him (male student #2) down to the office.” Two months after the event, the school principal, John Sarandrea, was continuing to call students from the fated Spanish class into his office. On the day of the event, Tuesday., February 27, 2007 male student #2 said he didn’t see or hear anything; the next day, Wednesday, February 28, 2007, male student #2 again states that he didn’t see or hear anything; at the New Castle School Board Expulsion Hearing of Wednesday, March 21, 2007, male student #2 declines to attend or speak, on the basis that he didn’t see or hear anything. Being called in to Principal John Sarandrea’s office two months later, on April 25, 2007, male student #2 now changes his story.
THE PILLS/THE PURSE
According to the New Castle Police Department Property Report, on Tuesday, February 27, 2007, Juvenile Officer Lt. Cindy Eve, although not permitted to retain any narcotics in juvenile storage, logs Erica Million’s purse (Item 1) along with 13 small white pills (Item 2.1.) into the New Castle Police Property Record’s Juvenile Locker. Lt. Cindy Eve exclusively holds these pills for four days, at which time she finally logs them out on Friday, March 2, 2007 into the custody of Narcotics Officer Anthony Lagnese, as per Lt. Cynthia Eve’s Supplemental Report of March 5, 2007, Page 18.
According to the testimony of Officer Anthony Lagnese, as the Narcotics officer, he is the only officer who handles narcotics in New Castle, whether juvenile or adult.
New Castle High School Principal, John Sarandrea, who worked directly with Lt. Cindy Eve questioning students on the very first day, Tuesday, February. 27, 2007, claims he did not find the pills until “The day after (Erica overdosed),” which would have been Wednesday, February 28, 2007 (New Castle School Board Hearing Transcript, Page 81), even though Lt. Eve’s signature shows them signed in police station department on Tuesday, February 27, 2007. Principal John Sarandrea states, “It’s important to note that the pills weren’t found until after male student #1 testified (on Wednesday, February 28, 2007),” Page 81. Principal Sarandrea also says that he exclusively took the pills and secured them: on Page 81, he says he secured them, “in the safe” and on Page 23 he says he personally “locked them up in my desk. We notified the police that we in fact had those and they came shortly thereafter to pick those up.” Again, this was Wednesday, February 28, 2007.
March 25, 2008, Lt. Cindy Eve testified that she learned that the school had found Erica’s purse on Wednesday, February 28, 2007; that she (Lt. Eve) picked it up, along with the pills wrapped in folded paper on Thursday, March 1, 2007; discovering on Friday, March 2, 2007 that 4 or 5 pills were missing, she went back to the school where they looked under Principal John Sarandrea’s desk and recovered the missing pills which had fallen out from the purse and/or folded paper onto the office floor.
On Tuesday, March 6, 2007, Officer Anthony Lagnese now claims that the pills found in Erica Million’s purse and the pills from the Stewart home are a match. According to Lt. Cynthia Eve’s Supplement Report of Tuesday, March 6, 2007, Page 20, Officer Lagnese returned to Magistrate Rishel’s office to “AMEND the prescription name, number and description.”
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Friday, March 2, 2007 Josh is officially withdrawn from New Castle High School due to his placement in the juvenile facility of the Krause home.
FACT: Josh had not yet been arrested and he was not placed in the Krause home until AFTER this date. How did the school know what police were doing with him before Josh did?
WITHDRAWAL FROM NEW CASTLE AREA SCHOOLS; SIGNED BY JOHN SARANDREA, NEW CASTLE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Saturday, March 3, 2007 Lt. Cindy Eve logs, “ On (Saturday) March 3, 2007, Att. John Bongivengo (DA) called me at home and told me Erica Millon had died.” Because Erica had died, Lt. Eve was then instructed to “have him (Josh) placed.”
FACT: Erica did not die until Sunday, March 4, 2007.
Sunday. March 4, 2007 Erica Million dies at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA
Source:
NEW CASTLE NEWS, MONDAY, MARCH 6, 2007
PRESSURE MAINTAINED ON 16 YEAR OLD JOSHUA STEWART FOR OVER ONE FULL YEAR WITHOUT A TRIAL
With no new evidence – DA John Bongivengo threatened to file:
FIRST****3rd Degree Murder – As An Adult
****New Castle News – March 5, 2007
****New Castle News - March 6, 2007
****New Castle News - March 8, 2007
****New Castle News - April 11, 2007
SECOND*****Manslaughter – As A Juvenile
****New Castle News – March 4, 2008
****New Castle News – March 8, 2008
THIRD****Intent to Deliver – as juvenile
****New Castle News – March 26. 2008
****New Castle News – April 5, 2008
According to Pat Litowitz, reporter for NCN, April 5, 2008, DA John Bongivengo said,“At this point, there’s no evidence that can link anybody up with her (Erica) death.”
THE RULING
Joshua Stewart was convicted in Juvenile Court by Judge John Hodge for Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance on March 27, 2008.
NOTE
During the late winter and early spring of 2007, New Castle High School Principal John Sarandrea was interviewing for a new position as Superintendent of Sharon Area Schools. They were impressed with his tough stance on drugs.
NEW CASTLE NEWS, MAY 4, 2007
WWW.NCNEWSONLINE.com
Each and every witness’ story has changed
throughout this past year and two months;
Joshua’s story IS, as it was from the beginning,
the same, consistent, with no changes.
THE TRUTH IS EASY TO REMEMBER!
April 25th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Josh, you know who I am, we weren’t very close though. We were on the stomp team and stuff together last year, but this is wat i think bout this story.. I was on nc news online and i seen a pic of your face and i had to read the story. i read it all and then i seen the website for this site and i read everything on here. It is not fair at all that you are in this position, when they said you were the one who “sold” them to her, i didnt believe it. as i read, you were involoved in school activities and church activities as well. if you did happen to sell pills to erica, you weren’t the cause of her death. anyone who dies of overdose is his or her own killer. you didn’t slip them in her drink or force them down her throat, so in my eyes you are innocent to her death. you hardly knew the girl and now you have all this on your hands at such a young age. this whole trial is ridiculous and it should have never started. you don’t even know how upset i am after i read these stories. your story remained the same throughout everything, but the stories of the interviewed kids changed many times. people cant really trust teenagers now of days anyway, because half of them like to tell stories just to get attention, and if the spanish teacher was standing right by erica’s row observing the class AND you guys were taking a test, how could a transaction like that happen? if the teacher didn’t see it, and the students were supposed to be test takine, then obviously they didn’t see it either. i wasn’t there so what i say isn’t in stone or a fact, but if the courts or whomever sit back and think about it and really put all the peices of the puzzle together, you weren’t the cause of her death, she was! I could have sworn i read that the pills you “sold” her weren’t the ones that killed her, so with that being said, you’re innocent. i can go on about this forever becuase it’s so wrong and unjust, but i’ll end it here with a God bless, good luck, and the truth ALWAYS comes out in the end. I love you, be safe… Imani
April 29th, 2008 at 9:13 am
I don’t know Josh personally but my daughter took Karate with him several years ago. He was a very kind hearted kid who helped all of the kids in the class. HE was very respectful and you instantly liked him. I met his mother once too. She seemed to me to be a great mother who kept her kids in line and kept them busy. As for Erica’s death, it is a very sad thing that happened but no one forced her to take those pills. Life is about choices (right or wrong) and unfortunately she made the wrong choice, but it was her choice!! I will pray for you Josh!!
May 5th, 2008 at 6:54 am
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