A plot to arrest a man as he was set to be released from prison after 30 years has blown up in the prosecutor’s face – Kim Kardashian and Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun Copeland are at war and the vicious feud between the two garnered international attention Saturday night when Kardashian joined forces with Gov. Tom Wolf, accusing Copeland of abuse of power – saying she crossed the line.
David Sheppard should have been reunited with his family, but he remains in custody and must appear in court on Monday in Delaware County
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 6, 2019
What’s more, incoming Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer – who already started cleaning house – says he’ll take a hard look at the case first thing after his swearing-in on Jan. 6.
“This morning after serving 25-years, David Sheppard was due to be released – instead he remains in custody over a 30-year-old old shoplifting case,” Kim Kardashian said. “This is sheer abuse of prosecutorial authority on the part of the district attorney’s office and a shameful waste of public resources.”
According to a source close to the situation, Kardashian is contemplating a potential appearance on Monday.
“Kim is going after Katayoun full-throttle after getting wind that she decided to hold this man in prison after a 30-year stint over a pair of jeans,” the source told yc.news. “Kim has been following this case extremely carefully after shooting the segment on David Shepherd.”
“When she heard the news regarding the new arrest, she was in complete shock. To Kim, that was lower than low – and now she’s vowed to get even. From what we were told, travel and accommodation for Kim is in the works. She plans to be there for David.”
This is sheer abuse of prosecutorial authority on the part of the district attorney’s office and a shameful waste of public resources
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 6, 2019
David Sheppard, 54, had served nearly 30 years for his part in a fatal robbery that took the life of a beloved pharmacist in Philadelphia. Despite Sheppard not being the gunman, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, before the state pardons board and governor approved his release.
“This store went out of business 25 years ago, and even got the items back!” Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who chairs the five-member pardons board, told The New York Times – calling Copeland’s tactic an abuse of power.
“It’s just about cruelty, saying I want to keep this guy locked up over Christmas, his first Christmas out, an individual who never took a life and served 30 years for his proximity to the crime. It’s just vindictiveness.”
“I’m absolutely speechless,” Fetterman told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “It’s stunning. Even if you’re Mr. Hard on Crime, this is ridiculous.”
This morning after serving 25yrs David Sheppard was due to be released – instead he remains in custody over a 30yr old shoplifting case
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 6, 2019
Sheppard is set to appear in front of Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Anthony D. Scanlon on Monday for a hearing regarding his shoplifting case. Kim is hoping that the court sees the gross miscarriage of justice and Sheppard is able to be reunited with his family.
“David Sheppard should have been reunited with his family, but he remains in custody and must appear in court on Monday in Delaware County,” Kardashian continued. “It’s imperative that the judge corrects this wrong on Monday so he can regain the freedom he so rightfully deserves.”
“It’s just vindictiveness”
Judge Scanlon was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas by Governor Tom Corbett and swore his Oath of Judicial Office on July 17, 2014. He was elected to a full ten-year term as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Nov. 2015.
“There is no way Stollsteimer is going to allow this Republican Party sideshow to continue to derail the pursuit of justice,” a source at the district attorney’s office revealed. “He didn’t unseat his predecessor to play politics.”
It’s imperative that the judge corrects this wrong on Monday so he can regain the freedom he so rightfully deserves
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 6, 2019
“There’s been one screw-up after another – and the hammer is about to fall. Plain and simple!”
Governor Tom Wolf slammed Copeland’s decision to prosecute the theft charge, calling it “simply wrong and misguided.”
“This cruel philosophy on criminal justice creates more problems than it solves,” Gov. Tom Wolf told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Regardless, the voters of Delaware County chose a new leader and she should respect the will of the voters.”
Copeland did not return phone messages from The Associated Press, but in a statement said she opposed Sheppard’s release because the victim’s family was never notified about his petition.
“The issue here is not about a shoplifting charge, it is the complete failure of the criminal justice system to give victims and their families a voice,” Copeland said in a statement to The Delaware County Daily Times. “Convicted felons are being empowered and extended leniency at the direct expense of victims and their families.”
What’s more, in Oxygen’s upcoming documentary “Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project,” Sheppard, who didn’t pull the trigger in the attack, claims not to have known his co-defendants were planning on robbing the store.
Copeland, a Republican appointed last year, was voted out of office earlier this month – losing the election to Jack Stollsteimer, the first Democrat ever elected district attorney in Delaware County’s history.
“The OUTGOING administration littered the district attorney’s office with conservative ideologues, saboteurs and spies.”
“Somebody’s going to have to convince me that it is in the interest of justice that we are prosecuting this man for a 27-year-old retail theft,” Stollsteimer told The Washington Post.
“There has to be a reason,” Stollsteimer continued in a statement to The Philadelphia Inquirer. “It can’t just be that we’re being vindictive.”
Just last week, Stollsteimer offed an entire arm of the office as he prepares to take control of the drama-filled office.
“I’m the new district attorney, elected to make some changes in the office, and we’re going through that process now,” Stollsteimer told The Delaware County Daily Times. “Change may be a little bit unsettling for some people, but we’re making sure we have the best team ready to start in January when I get sworn in.”
The tone for Stollsteimer’s first few months in office is set before even crossing the courthouse threshold.
“Stollsteimer is upsetting the apple cart, taking on the establishment and a lot of people are angry and have a lot to lose. You’re seeing that play out in rolling resignations,” an insider at the Delaware County Public Defender’s Office told us. “The outgoing administration littered the district attorney’s office with conservative ideologues, saboteurs and spies.”
“Yes, changing the stagnant, backstabbing swamp of Delaware County is like turning the Titanic around on a dime. But this is the first step – a housecleaning of epic proportions!”
If you regularly keep up with Kim K’s undertakings, you might know the star has been working on prison reform since 2018, when she helped free an incarcerated woman named Alice Marie Johnson who was serving life in prison for a first-time, nonviolent offense.
Since then, Kardashian has been working to add the title of esquire to her resumé by participating in a four-year apprenticeship with a San Francisco law firm and studying to take the California bar exam in 2022, according to her May 2019 interview with Vogue.
Additional Reporting By Alexander Swanson