Cops: Recognize this Man?

Bucks County last month held a ribbon cutting ceremony to unveil the newly constructed Diversion, Assessment, Restoration and Treatment (DART) Center in Doylestown Township.

Expected to begin accepting residents this month, the 23,000 square-foot facility will serve adults with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use issues who are involved with the criminal justice system.

“We have wanted to do something about this problem – to get people diverted from the criminal justice system,” said Commissioner Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia, LCSW. “But one piece of the puzzle was missing. It was this place.”

Through treatment and skill development, the Center will operate with the goals of diverting people from incarceration, reducing days of incarceration, reducing utilization of State institutions and reducing recidivism.

The DART Center houses three distinct tracks within this Residential Treatment Center for Adults:

• Short-Term Assessment and Stabilization – A safe transitional opportunity assessment and referral (up to eight individuals)
• Restoration of Competency Unit – For individuals involved in the criminal justice system who have been deemed Incompetent to Stand Trial (up to four individuals)
• Community Integration – A space for individuals in need of treatment and daily living skill development to support movement to more independent living in the community (up to 16 individuals)

At full capacity, the DART can simultaneously serve up to 28 people.

Bucks County has hired the GEO Group to manage day-to-day operations at the DART Center, with oversight from Bucks County BH/DP.

“Right now, there’s a person, maybe more than one, who doesn’t even know that the DART Center exists. They are somewhere hard, in a cell somewhere, trying to get through another day [in a world] that has told them they’re too complicated to help,” said Dr. Mathew Abraham, Senior Director of Treatment and Program Development for GEO. “That person is going to find their way here, and when they do, they will walk through a door that says, ‘we see you, you are worth all of this.’”

Located on the grounds of the former Women’s Community Corrections Center, construction on the DART began in late 2023.

Credit: Submitted

The total projected cost to build the facility is about $19.8 million. The County has paid for the construction with a combination of mostly federal and state funds, with about $1.8 million coming from the County’s General Fund.

“Today marks an important milestone for Bucks County, because we are not simply opening a building,” said General Services Director Bernard Griggs. “We are opening a pathway to a more compassionate, affective approach to mental health and criminal justice.

General contracting work on the project was performed by Magnum, Inc., with architecture services by USA Architects, engineering by Carroll Engineering and Windward, electrical work by the Farfield Company, mechanical services by Integrity Mechanical, Inc., plumbing services by Vision Mechanical, fire protection work by Guy M. Cooper Mechanical and construction management by Jingoli.

Commissioner Vice Chair Bob Harvie, speaking  to a crowd of County officials and community stakeholders gathered to mark the DART’s opening, reflected on the questions that drove the facility’s planning years before its construction.

“What could we do on this spot that could make a difference?” he said. “What can we do on this spot that has meaning for people who really need help at a time that might be the lowest in their lives, that serves a purpose, and helps law enforcement and the criminal justice system appropriately handle people who shouldn’t be in a prison, but end up there because there is nowhere else to go?”

The DART Center is just the latest effort by the County to improve mental health services for Bucks County residents, especially those whose illness brings them into contact with the criminal justice system.

One ongoing effort is the award-winning Human Services Co-Responders Program, which embeds social workers in police departments to assist officers when encountering people in need of social services. Since launching in 2020 with the Bensalem Police Department, the program has expanded to serve more than two dozen police departments countywide.

In partnership with the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas, the County has also established specialized court programs to address the unique needs of qualifying offenders, including Recovery Court, Wellness Court and Veterans Treatment Court. These programs have been nationally recognized and are instructive for similar programs across the country.

PHOTO: Jeff Contino, Director of the Diversion, Assessment, Restoration and Treatment (DART) Center, on Feb. 25, 2026, leads Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan, Sheriff Danny Ceisler, Prothonotary Donna Petrecco and others in a tour of the newly completed facility. Credit: Submitted

A 31 year old Morrisville woman is heading to trial at the Justice Center in Doylestown after charges were held over- which include allegedly bringing weapon on to school property- at a preliminary hearing Tuesday.

Magisterial District Judge Corryn L. Kronnagel ruled there was enough evidence to sustain charges filed against Ashlynn A. Parker Paris connected to incident in which she and another woman brawled with each other at Morrisville Borough Police Headquarters after the suspect allegedly pointed a gun at her in front of  the Borough High School.

According to the probable cause, on Wednesday February 25, 2026 at approximately 9:20 a.m., officer Amanda DeLuca observed a physical altercation occurring at Morrisville Police Department Headquarters.

DeLuca walked into the municipal  building and observed one female, identified as Ashlynn Parker Paris, holding another female against the wall with her forearm. The two women were screaming at each other. At this time, police separated the two females, at which point, Parker Paris kept lunging at the victim and trying to push past police to get to her.

At this time, the two women were separated in separate rooms.

The victim said that this altercation started because Parker Paris’s daughter assaulted her daughter earlier at Morrisville High School.

The victim told police, according to court records, that when she picked her daughter up from the high school, Parker Paris walked towards the victim’s vehicle holding a firearm in her hand and stated “I’ll slap the s**t out of you”.

At this time, the victim fled the area, police said.

The victim arrived at Borough Police Department to file a report and  Parker Paris was already there.

The victim said Parker Paris was screaming at her which led to the suspect physically attacking her in which she suffered a small laceration on the right side of her face, the probable cause alleges.

DeLuca subsequently obtained CCTV footage which shows the altercation between the two women.

According to police,the footage shows the victim in her vehicle and Parker Paris walking out of the school, towards the victim’s vehicle, the two exchange words. Parker Paris and her daughter walk back to her vehicle. The victim reverses her vehicle and starts driving towards Grandview Avenue.  The CCTV footage then shows Parker Paris get out of her vehicle and raising her right hand which contained a handgun. Parker Paris then points the black handgun at the victim’s vehicle then gets back in her vehicle and drives off.

Further investigation led to the discovery that Parker Paris’s firearm was fully loaded during the time of the incident and was turned in to police after the incident, police said.

Parker Paris was represented by Shaka Mzee Johnson, Esq at today’s hearing.

Parker Paris is charged with misdemeanor counts of possession of a weapon on school property, terroristic threats, simple assault and disorderly conduct.

She is due back in court on April 10 in Doylestown for formal arraignment.

A 23 year-old Trenton, New Jersey man is behind bars at Bucks County Jail charged for brutally beating his ex-girlfriend in front of a Morrisville Borough Pizzeria that was captured on video by two witnesses in April of last year, police say.

Police were dispatched on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at approximately 7:34 p.m., for a assault report at Nick’s Pizza, on E. Trenton Avenue. The 911 caller said a young female ran into the restaurant bleeding from the face and asked for help.

Police arrived on scene and went inside Nick’s Pizza to speak with the victim.

Officers observed the victim having a large bleeding gash on her left eyebrow. She also had blood all over her face, her chest and her left eye was swollen shut and bruised badly, according to court papers. The victim told police that she was in a great deal of pain and was terrified that the man who assaulted her would come back for her She identified her ex-boyfriend, Kashonn McGill as the perpetrator.

Police then spoke with witnesses still on scene who also captured on video part of McGill allegedly beating the victim on their cell phone video applications.

According to witness #1, she reported that a black male pulled the victim out of a red vehicle and began punching and kicking her.

According to witness #2, the video clearly shows a red Hyundai Sonata stopped in the traffic way of the parking lot in front of Nick’s Pizza with an unknown type white sedan positioned directly in front of the Sonata, nose to nose. A tall black male with medium length dreadlocks, wearing a light blue long sleeve top and grey shorts is seen punching and kicking the victim female on the ground in the face, head and back. The female is wearing a maroon top and matching leggings.

Witness #3’s video clip shows a woman with long, black hair, wearing a cropped jean jacket, black t-shirt and grey short shorts is seen trying to help the other female and fight off the male. The female being assaulted is screaming for help. The male then grabs the female in maroon by the hair, pulls her up off the ground, then bear hugs her from behind and drags her over to the white vehicle. He opens the driver’s side door and attempts to shove the victim into the vehicle. The victim continues to scream loudly while W#3 attempts to pull her away from the male. The victim falls to the ground and the video stops.

Morrisville Borough Police were able to identify the victim as the female in the maroon outfit. And identified McGill through state records.

A short time later police arrived on scene at Capital Health Regional Hospital and spoke with the victim’s mother. She told police McGill had been allegedly stalking her daughter and she was able to obtain a Protection From Abuse order against him, but he continues to terrorize the victim.

Morrisville Police discovered Trenton Police had not served the PFA yet, court records show.

The victim’s mother identified McGill’s vehicle for police.

The officer then spoke to W#3, the other person involved in the incident. She said she and the victim were hanging out and had to drop something off at the victim’s house for her mother. They spotted McGill following them in his car (in New Jersey) and began driving around, trying to lose him. They decided to cross the Calhoun Street Bridge into Pennsylvania, and turned into Morrisville Shopping Center, stopping in front of Nick’s Pizza.

W#3 said that McGill began “tapping” her car with his as they were driving. There was no damage to the vehicle and she said she was not injured. Then, McGill, according to a witness got out of his vehicle, pulled the victim out of her vehicle (the red Sonata), and began to beat her.

The witness told police she was fearful of the victim’s life and that McGill allegedly said he was going to kill her.

According to the medics that transported the victim to the hospital, one medic believed she suffered an orbital fracture and possibly a jaw fracture. The medic told police that the victim said during transport to the hospital that McGill allegedly stole her purse and cell phone from her.

The victim’s mother called 911 to speak to the officer investigating the assault. She told police that her daughter’s (witness number 3) friend told her McGill allegedly said he was going to be waiting for her at her house when they got home. Police asked if the friend had the victim’s phone and she said she did, however, she said McGill still had the victim’s purse and refused to give it back money he believed was owed to him by the victim.

The victim denied owing McGill money, saying he is lying just to have an excuse to stalk her. Before police left, the officer tried again to see if the victim was feeling up to speaking with her, but she said she was in too much pain at that time, according to court records.

Police issued an arrest warrant for McGill last April.

He was arrested on Feb. 24, 2026 and arraigned by District Judge Corryn L. Kronnagel. She set bail at 10 percent of $500,000. He is charged with one felony count of aggravated assault, misdemeanor counts of simple assault, disorderly conduct, theft by deception, and related offenses.

Unable to post bail, McGill was remanded to County Jail where he currently remains pending his next court appearance scheduled for March 10. He has no attorney of record according to online court records.