The Upper Merion Area Spotlight is narrowing its weekly review of local court records.

Rather than counting every traffic ticket, civil case and landlord-tenant filing, the new Court Report will focus specifically on criminal cases filed in the two Magisterial District Courts whose jurisdictions cover Upper Merion Township and Bridgeport Borough.

For this first report, we're using a slightly longer reporting period, Sept. 12 through Sept. 20, as we transition to a Monday-through-Sunday schedule.

During those nine days, 13 criminal cases were filed, six in Magisterial District Court 38-1-09 in King of Prussia and seven in Magisterial District Court 38-1-25 in Bridgeport.

The filings include allegations involving assault, burglary, retail theft, theft, DUI, drugs, forgery, identity theft and indecent exposure.

Criminal charges are allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Two of the six criminal cases filed in the King of Prussia court involved retail theft.

One defendant, listed as a Wilmington, Delaware resident, was charged with misdemeanor retail theft and receiving stolen property in connection with an alleged Sept. 11 incident.

A second defendant, listed with a Philadelphia address, faces felony retail theft and conspiracy charges, along with receiving stolen property and false identification to law enforcement. The alleged incident occurred Aug. 31. Court records show the defendant was committed to Montgomery County Prison after being unable to post bail.

Another filing contains some of the week's most serious property-crime charges.

A West Conshohocken resident was charged with three counts of second-degree felony burglary, along with multiple counts of trespassing and criminal mischief, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.

The alleged offenses date to Feb. 27, although the criminal complaint wasn't filed until Sept. 17. The docket was listed as inactive when reviewed by Spotlight.

The docket alone does not provide enough information to explain what allegedly occurred or why charges were filed nearly seven months later.

A separate Upper Merion case filed Sept. 17 involves allegations dating to July 22.

A Florida resident was charged with second-degree felony forgery, along with felony counts of theft by deception, receiving stolen property, unauthorized use of an access device issued to another person and identity theft.

That case was also listed as inactive when the docket was reviewed.

A Bridgeport resident was charged in the King of Prussia court with misdemeanor simple assault and summary disorderly conduct following an alleged Sept. 12 incident in Upper Merion Township.

The criminal complaint was filed Sept. 15.

The remaining King of Prussia filing involved a West Norriton resident charged with DUI-general impairment following an alleged Sept. 4 incident in Upper Merion Township. The docket also lists several summary traffic violations.

Seven criminal cases were filed in Magisterial District Court 38-1-25 during the reporting period.

One of the most serious involves a King of Prussia resident charged with first-degree felony strangulation, misdemeanor simple assault, misdemeanor false imprisonment and summary harassment.

The charges stem from an alleged Sept. 13 incident. Court records show monetary bail was set at $25,077.

Spotlight is seeking the criminal complaint for additional information about the allegations.

Another filing is connected to the Sept. 13 incident previously reported by Spotlight in which police allege a man chased a former friend through a King of Prussia neighborhood while armed with a glock style BB gun and threatened to shoot him.

That case was formally filed Sept. 14 and includes charges of aggravated assault involving a deadly weapon, simple assault, terroristic threats and harassment.

Spotlight previously obtained and reviewed the affidavit of probable cause in that case.

A Bridgeport resident was charged with misdemeanor simple assault, along with summary harassment and disorderly conduct, following an alleged Sept. 12 incident in Bridgeport.

The defendant initially was committed after being unable to post $10,000 bail, which was posted later that day.

A Philadelphia resident faces misdemeanor indecent exposure and open lewdness charges, along with summary disorderly conduct, following an alleged Sept. 2 incident in Upper Merion Township.

The criminal complaint was filed Sept. 16.

Spotlight is seeking the complaint to learn more about the circumstances behind those charges.

Two criminal cases filed during the period involve the same Bridgeport resident.

In one, filed Sept. 16, the defendant was charged with receiving stolen property and theft by unlawful taking following an alleged Sept. 9 incident.

A second case, filed Sept. 18, includes two counts of controlled-substance possession and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia stemming from an alleged Sept. 5 incident.

An Upper Merion Township case filed Sept. 18 charges a Phoenixville resident with DUI-general impairment following an alleged Sept. 16 incident. A summary driver's-license offense was also filed.

The weekly Court Report is intended to provide a snapshot of newly filed criminal cases, but a docket often tells only part of the story.

When a filing raises additional questions, Spotlight will seek the underlying criminal complaint and affidavit of probable cause to determine what police allege occurred.

For this reporting period, we're taking a closer look at several cases, including the strangulation, burglary, identity-theft and indecent-exposure filings, as well as the felony retail-theft case.

Those records may become future Beyond the Docket reports.

Beginning next week, the Crime Report will cover a clean Monday-through-Sunday reporting period, starting with Sept. 21 through Sept. 27.

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Thank you for reading,

Corey