$1 Million Bail Reduced To $50K In WCU Student Arson Case

WEST CHESTER, PA — West Chester University student Taylor Enterline was released this morning after an appeal of the $1 million bail set for felony charges of riot and arson.

Enterline was the first among a group charged with arson and riot to have her bail reviewed and reduced.

Magisterial District Judge Bruce Roth on Tuesday set bail at $1 million for a group of eight alleged arsonists and rioters. Enterline and the other defendants are charged with one felony count each for the following: arson, with danger of death or bodily injury, institutional vandalism of an educational facility, riot -intent to commit a felony, criminal conspiracy to engage in institutional vandalism and criminal conspiracy engaging in riot -intent to commit felony.

Enterline is also charged with misdemeanors including failure to disperse upon an officer's orders, disorderly conduct engaging in fighting, and obstruction of a highway.

Lancaster Stands Up, an activist group with whom Enterline was working, initiated the bail review and announced the accused's release after the 9 a.m. review ended.

Lancaster Stands Up said this week it was working with the NAACP Lancaster Chapter, the ACLU, the Lancaster Legal Collective, and the National Bail Fund Network to "get the outrageously high bail reduced and to get these folks out of jail."

The group has been gathering funds to cover legal fees for those charged. They said, "Though the protests on Sunday were mostly peaceful, that night there were incidents of escalation and property damage. It is unclear who caused the damage or their relationship to the protest, but police seem to have made arrests of whoever they could grab in the vicinity."

Protests have been ongoing in Lancaster since the May 25 killing of George Floyd, but action flared by Sunday evening following a police shooting in Lancaster City, and among those accused of riot and arson was West Chester University student Enterline, 20, of Manheim, Pa.

The fatal shooting of a mentally ill man who was armed with a knife and had a record of violent behavior triggered anger in community and sparked the protests that turned violent. The police officer who responded to the report of Richard Munoz, was alone, and was charged at by Munoz, police reported.

Lancaster Stands Up said the officer was unprepared to de-escalate the situation. The Lancaster County coroner on Wednesday determined that cause of Munoz's death was a gunshot wound and ruled the death a homicide. A coroner's finding is not a legal charge of homicide.

On Wednesday, a GoFundMe page was set up for Enterline's legal fees. The collection goal of $35,000 was nearly met by Thursday morning, when the page showed $33,122 had been raised by 1,100 donors.

The GoFundMe pitch reads, in part: "Taylor Enterline was arrested Sunday night after peacefully protesting in Lancaster. She was working as a medic, running around helping those that were hurt and or tear gassed."

Lt.-Gov. John Fetterman this week called the $1 million bail, “blatantly unconstitutional,”saying it violates the U.S. Constitution's 8th Amendment prohibition on excess bail.

Lancaster Newspapers reported both Enterline and Kathryn Patterson, 20, a Franklin and Marshall College student who also was given $1 million bail, each had their bail modified to $50,000, placed under "geographical restrictions." Enterline and Patterson can not be within one block of the Lancaster City police station per the restrictions.

Others charged in the case, and their bail amounts, as of Thursday are:

• Jamal Shariff Newman - $1 million
• Barry Jones - $1 million
• Yoshua Dwayne Montague - $1 million
• Matthew Modderman - $1 million
• Talia Gessner - $1 million
• T-Jay Fry - $1 million
• Dylan Davis - $1 million