A Westmoreland County jury took just nine minutes to convict a Philadelphia man of three drug offenses after he refused to appear in court for his trial.
Rysheid Malik Baldwin, 44, was to serve as his own lawyer in what was expected to be a three-day trial on charges that he attempted to sell heroin to an undercover North Huntingdon police officer in 2021.
Court officials said Baldwin, who had been in jail awaiting trial, participated in jury selection on Monday but refused to leave a courthouse holding cell when the case reconvened Tuesday morning…