Philadelphia man accused of spitting at prosecutor during Montgomery County Court hearing

NORRISTOWN — A Philadelphia man awaiting trial for assault and attempted robbery in Lower Merion saw charges mount against him after authorities said he spat at a prosecutor and overturned a defense table, disrupting his pretrial hearing in a Montgomery County courtroom this week.

Cymeir Rashawn Geiger, 23, of the 2800 block of North Hutchinson Street, was charged this week with aggravated harassment by a prisoner, a felony, and harassment in connection with an alleged Aug. 19 incident at the courthouse.

Geiger, who remains in custody, faces a Sept. 11 preliminary hearing on the latest charges before District Court Judge Hakim J. Jones in Norristown.

Geiger was in court at 3:25 p.m. Aug. 19 for a pretrial hearing to set his trial date on the robbery charges, representing himself before Judge Thomas C. Branca, when he “became frustrated by the date set for a future trial,” detectives alleged.

“Mr. Geiger began to become verbally abusive towards your honor and other staff present in the courtroom,” county Detective James J. Reape alleged in the arrest affidavit.

Due to Geiger’s alleged “abusive conduct,” two sheriff’s deputies in the courtroom moved toward Geiger to attempt to place him in handcuffs, according to court documents. The judge initially directed deputies to stand down to allow Geiger to continue to address the judge, according to the arrest affidavit.

As Geiger continued to address the courtroom, “the matter escalated again with Mr. Geiger again becoming verbally abusive toward his Honor,” Reape alleged.

“The deputies re-approached and were in the process of attempting to handcuff Cymeir Geiger when he spit” toward Assistant District Attorney Anne O’Connell, who was at the prosecution table, court papers indicate. The saliva landed on O’Connell’s cheek, detectives said.

“Mr. Geiger continued with his verbal tirade and flipped over the table made available to the defense inside courtroom B,” Reape alleged. “Mr. Geiger was secured by the (deputies) and was escorted from the courtroom.”

While Geiger was representing himself during the hearing, Assistant Public Defender Prince Charles Yakubu was acting as standby counsel at that time. Several other courtroom staffers also witnessed the incident.

Geiger is awaiting trial on charges of attempted robbery, aggravated and simple assault, attempted theft and harassment in connection with a 5:41 p.m. Sept. 25, 2023, incident during which he allegedly assaulted a man who was walking in the 100 block of East Wynnewood Road in Lower Merion.

“The victim turned back around and was struck on the left side of his face by Geiger’s closed left fist. The victim fell to the ground and Geiger attempted to reach into the victim’s pockets, however the victim was able to prevent any items from being taken,” Lower Merion Police Officer Daniel Gilbert wrote in a criminal complaint.

Geiger then ran west on East Wynnewood Road toward the Wynnewood Train Station, police said.

The victim, who sustained a laceration to the left side of his upper lip, called 911 to report the incident.

Arriving officers observed Geiger in the area and conducted a pedestrian stop and observed Geiger to have “blood transfer on the palm of his right hand and a laceration and blood on his left hand knuckles,” according to the arrest affidavit.

The victim subsequently positively identified Geiger as the person who assaulted and attempted to rob him, police said.

Branca has set Dec. 9 as the date for Geiger’s jury trial on the charges stemming from the alleged Lower Merion incident.