Pa. public defender charged with hiding client’s whereabouts

PITTSBURGH (AP) — An assistant public defender in Pittsburgh has been charged with lying about his client’s whereabouts just days before the defendant wound up killing himself.

Court records don’t list an attorney for 29-year-old Andrew Capone, of Pittsburgh, who was charged late Monday with hindering apprehension, and obstructing the administration of law.

Allegheny County sheriffs say Capone falsely told a county judge’s staff he hadn’t seen 44-year-old Jeffrey Derosky on Jan. 12. Derosky didn’t show up for trial on child-sex charges that day, but his girlfriend later told investigators she and Derosky met with Capone at the courthouse to discuss a plea offer earlier that day.

But sheriffs looking to arrest Derosky for failing to appear say Capone told the court he hadn’t seen Derosky since the previous Friday.

Derosky shot himself in a motel Jan. 16.