D.A.: Derkotch brother
had no role in football fight

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has said that Paul Derkotch had no role in a fight that involved his brother, Wayne, and a coach during a peewee football game at Burholme Park last October.
Two weeks ago, Wayne Derkotch, a resident of Fishtown, was acquitted in Municipal Court of misdemeanor assault and related criminal charges stemming from the Oct. 22 fight, when he pulled a gun on Jermaine Wilson, the coach of his son’s football team.
Paul Derkotch, who was not charged with any offense, was not involved in the fracas, said Charles Ehrlich, an assistant district attorney. At the time, police reports of the incident indicated that a game referee, Shawn Henwood, struck Paul Derkotch, claiming he had intervened while Henwood was trying to record the license-plate information of Wayne Derkotch’s car.
Ehrlich said this week that Paul Derkotch was struck by the ref but never tried to interfere with the apprehension of his brother. The confusion at the time, along with superficial interviews of some witnesses, linked Paul Derkotch to the incident, but authorities are now satisfied that he did not get involved, Ehrlich said.
The assistant district attorney and a police inspector recently met with Paul Derkotch to tell him that more thorough interviews could have made it apparent sooner that he had no part in the incident.
His brother Wayne, 41, had been upset about playing time for his young son. Derkotch, who was licensed to carry a concealed gun, had claimed he acted in self-defense by pulling the .357-caliber revolver on Wilson when their argument turned physical and the football coach punched him several times in the face.
Wilson was not arrested or charged. Police arrested Henwood, the referee, on charges that he punched Paul Derkotch, but the district attorney’s office subsequently dropped the charges against Henwood, agreeing that he was trying to aid police before their arrival.
Wayne Derkotch also was acquitted of reckless endangerment and possessing an instrument of crime. ••