• Coolbaugh Township barber fight turned fatal relived in court

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  • Did Coolbaugh Township barber Shawn Develvet start the fight that led to fellow barber Quentin Thomas' May 9, 2013, death at their Route 611 business?
    Or was it Thomas who started the fight, forcing Develvet to defend himself? And did Thomas die from injuries inflicted by Develvet or from a pre-existing medical conditions?
    A jury will have to decide the answers to these questions after all testimony and evidence have been presented in Develvet's trial, which began Tuesday and could go to deliberation Thursday or Friday, depending on the weather.
    “Mr. Thomas had severe emphysema and an extremely enlarged heart,” defense attorney Jennifer Bathon told the jury in her opening statement Tuesday. “Was he healthy enough to initiate, much less participate in, a fight?”
    Bathon said one medical expert witness will attribute the cause of Thomas' death to a collapsed lung while another will attribute it to a heart attack. She indicated the jury should question if the injuries Thomas suffered during the fight contributed to either cause.
    Thomas' family sat on one side of the courtroom while Develvet's family sat on the other side. Thomas' mother covered her weeping eyes with one hand as she listened to testimony detailing how the 200-pound Develvet, 48, pinned the 194-pound Thomas, 34, on the ground and choked him with his own shirt while repeatedly punching him in the side of the head and at one point biting him on the thumb.
    That testimony came from Mikasa Williams, Thomas' fiancee with whom he had a daughter now age 16, who broke down in tears on the stand and afterward was hugged by Thomas' tearful sister in the hallway outside of the courtroom.
    Williams' testimony and taped police interviews played in court revealed the following details:
    Thomas at the time was on work release while serving a 90-day county jail sentence on a driving-under-the-influence conviction. She and their daughter were living at a motel after being evicted, while Thomas worked during the day and reported back to Monroe County Correctional Facility at night.
    Develvet, who himself was financially struggling at the time with his electricity and cable cut off, got Thomas a job at the barber shop in April 2013 and mentored him. Williams drove Thomas to and from work on some days, while Develvet or one of the other barbers did this on other days.
    Bathon had told the jury in her opening statement that Develvet sometimes loaned Thomas money, but Williams said she doesn't recall this ever happening or both men ever socializing outside of work.
    On May 9, 2013, Williams drove Thomas to work. She then went to get him lunch and returned at about 2 p.m., shortly after which Thomas and Develvet got into an argument.
    Williams said Thomas was talking to the customer whose hair he was cutting about the 90-day jail sentence he was serving. She said Develvet told Thomas to “be a man” and stop complaining about having to serve such a light sentence.
    She said Develvet became more agitated toward Thomas, who remained calm while continuing to work on the customer. She said Develvet walked aggressively toward Thomas. She got between the two to try to prevent a physical fight, and Develvet walked around her and threw the first punch at Thomas, hitting him in the head as he continued working on the customer.
    After his arrest later that day, Develvet told police during a taped interview that Thomas was upset because he believed Develvet had been taking customers from him.
    Develvet told police he wasn't doing this and the argument started over his response when finding out Thomas was serving a sentence. Develvet said he told Thomas 90 days is “a cake walk” and that the agitated Thomas replied, “You don't know what I did, so you shouldn't even be talking.”
    Develvet told police Thomas became increasingly more agitated toward him to the point where Thomas told him to shut up or step outside and fight. Develvet said he told Thomas he wasn't stepping outside, at which point Thomas lunged at him and threw the first punch.
    Williams said the fight lasted a short time and ended with Develvet pinning Thomas on the ground and choking, punching and then biting him.
    Williams said she tried to get the customer that Thomas had been working on to help her stop the fight, but the customer just stood there and yelled at both men to stop.
    Police Detective John Bohrman later testified that police were never able to find that customer afterward.
    According to testimony and Develvet's comments during the taped police interview, the fight ended when Develvet grew tired, got up off Thomas and went for a walk out on Route 611 to cool off.
    The bleeding Thomas got up, went outside and sat on the steps, at which point Williams got a cloth from her car and tried to wipe some of the blood off. Thomas told Williams he was having trouble breathing, and she suggested he lie down in the back seat of her car, which he did.
    Williams said she then went back into the barber shop and saw Thomas' hair clippers were on the floor and still running. She said she picked the clippers up, shut them off and put them down somewhere.
    “I did this because I thought Quentin was going to come back in and continue working for the rest of the day,” Williams said. “I didn't know at the time how badly he was hurt.”
    Develvet is also charged with tampering with physical evidence for allegedly trying to clean up blood in the barber shop after the fight.
    Williams under cross-examination said she wasn't the one who tried cleaning anything up and that all she did was pick up Thomas' clippers when she went back into the shop.
    Williams then went back to her car to check on Thomas. He told her he just needed to catch his breath, but she saw “he didn't look good and his lips were turning pale.”
    By this time, fellow barber Ed Aponte had arrived and Develvet had come back from his walk. Develvet saw Thomas' condition and he and Aponte then helped Thomas out of the car and into a chair in front of the barber shop. When Thomas asked for water, both Williams and Develvet brought him some.
    Bathon pointed out Develvet helping Thomas shows he cared about Thomas and that he, too, didn't realize how badly Thomas was hurt.
    Thomas told Williams he couldn't breathe and to call 911, which she did.
    Pocono Mountain Regional Ambulance paramedic Charles DeBonis testified he and three other paramedics arrived and did what they could, but that Thomas was doomed no matter what they did. DeBonis said Williams told paramedics she thought Thomas was having an asthma attack, but that it soon became evident Thomas had a collapsed lung, which could have been caused by some type of blunt trauma to the body.
    Thomas was rushed to Pocono Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. DeBonis said neither paramedics protocol handling of Thomas, nor the 20-minute ride to the hospital contributed in any way to Thomas' death.
    When questioned by police later that afternoon, Develvet at first lied about what had happened.
    He said he was sitting in his barber chair, watching a movie, while Thomas was working on a customer. He said he suddenly heard a commotion and looked around to see a man he didn't know had entered the shop and was assaulting Thomas.
    Develvet said he himself was attacked by the man, whom he described as 6 feet tall and 220 pounds with a beard and short hair, when jumping in to help Thomas. He said the man then fled the shop.
    About an hour later, after learning new information indicating Develvet more likely was the one who had injured Thomas, police charged Develvet and interviewed him a second time.
    He then told police he in fact had been the one engaged in a physical fight with Thomas, but that Thomas had started it. He apologized and said he had lied to protect Thomas from getting into any more trouble when Thomas was about to be paroled.
    Williams said she at first backed up Develvet's lie, but likewise later told police the truth, because she too didn't want Thomas getting into any more trouble.
    “Quentin just had one more week (of his 90-day sentence to serve), and he would have come home,” said the tearful Williams.
    Not knowing at the time what exactly he was charged with or that Thomas had died, Develvet told police he wanted to file “cross-charges” against Thomas for injuring him. Police testified they saw a bruise to the back of his head, but didn't recall what other bruises he had.
    Testimony resumes at 9 a.m. today.
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