Yesterday's case before Common Pleas Judge Michael Erdos involved Taleon Goffney's arrest last Dec. 10, when he was caught sawing a hole in the roof of the Super Seven Deli on Frankford Avenue near Vista Street in Northeast Philadelphia.
A trained martial artist, Goffney jumped from the roof of the building but was apprehended in a nearby alley after a struggle with police.
Goffney's attorney, Michael Gushue, contended yesterday that his client's sentence should be mitigated because even though he "technically resisted arrest," he had not applied the force against officers that a "national champion" in martial arts could have.
Assistant District Attorney Smitha Vemuri refuted that theory by noting that Goffney had told officers during the struggle: "Don't make me hurt you."
Goffney, who became notorious among police for his skill at escaping, was caught in Clementon, Camden County, in 2006. While handcuffed in the back seat of a police cruiser, he smashed out the rear window with his head and dove out of the moving car. He ran off before jumping into a nearby pond.
"He swam across like Flipper, taunting the officers saying, 'You'll never catch me,' " Clementon Police Chief Dave Kunkle told the Daily News then.
Yesterday, Gushue said his client was a changed man.
"I believe he's had an epiphany," Gushue said. "He's seen the light. He's not a kid anymore."
A 28-year-old woman, who identified herself as Goffney's fiancee, said, "He's a good person."
"I think he's realizing he's too old to fool around anymore," she said.
Goffney, who spoke briefly on his own behalf, said he wasn't thinking about others when he committed his crimes.
