Bealer’s Case Updated: Inquiry Still Open

By Alexandra Bender
Staff Writer

After a course of events that led to perhaps the most scandalous piece of news offered to ESU students last semester, Tara Bealer, a previous adjunct professor of sociology, was caught selling heroin illegally from her home.

The case was initially filed in January, and since the first information was published in February, updates to the case can be now publicized as well.

In the first of more than eight cases entitled Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Tara E. Bealer (excluding a speeding ticket she was given in 2015), Bealer was indicted with eighty-four drug-related charges. The charges, which consist of mostly counts of “Use/Possession of Drug Paraphernalia” and also “Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession With Intent to Manufacture or Deliver,” “Possession of Marijuana,” and “Endangering Welfare of Children,” were confirmed previously by the Northampton Defense Attorney’s Office.

On April 11, a preliminary hearing took place, and the case was soon transferred from the Magisterial District Court to the Court of Common Pleas.

At this point in time, Judge Stephen G. Baratta was assigned to the case.

A formal arraignment was scheduled at the Court of Common Pleas on June 23.

Between the preliminary hearing and the formal arraignment, Bealer was charged with multiple parking violations.

After the formal arraignment, she was confined in Northampton County Prison for a period of time. Bail was set at $50,000.

On July 21, during one of her hearings, Bealer made a motion for “the Appointment of a Mental Health Expert” which was denied by the court.

After a Bail Revocation Hearing held on August 12, it was agreed upon for Bealer to be released from prison with the understanding that she would wear a SCRAM bracelet and be drug tested three times a week, with the bail remaining.

A SCRAM bracelet is a device permanently fastened to the criminal’s lower leg that can detect alcohol consumption 24 hours a day. According to its website, it is trusted for use on “high-risk, hardcore DUI and alcohol offenders.”

The case is still active. The most recent detail published on public record shows that on Sept. 9, during a Pre-Trial Conference, the “Motion for Sanctions and Motion for Suppression of Statements will be held to be decided at a later date, due to additional discovery that needs to be provided and to be reviewed by the Defense Counsel.”

Bealer is represented by a court appointed private attorney, James Paul Madsen, and the Commonwealth is represented by District Attorney William Wismer Matz, Jr.

The details of this case are on public record. To view these details, you can visit the website of The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, www.pacourts.us, and search Tara Bealer’s docket number in the Court of Common Pleas: CP-48-CR-0001212-2016.

Email Alexandra at:
abender3@live.esu.edu