A retired lab technician for the Philadelphia Police Department was sentenced to jail after admitting to terrorizing and endangering citizens and police officers by pointing a weapon at them in a Plymouth Township shopping center while suffering from an apparent mental health crisis.
Cynthia L. Dargan, 64, of the 8000 block of Michener Avenue, was sentenced to 2 to 23 months in Montgomery County Jail on Tuesday for aggravated and simple assault, terroristic threats causing public inconvenience, possession of a weapon, and recklessly endangering others in connection with the Nov. 2, 2024, incident at the Metroplex Shopping Center.
Dargan, a U.S. Army veteran, will be compensated for the 20 days she spent in an inpatient mental health treatment program at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Coatesville following the incident.
Judge Wendy G. Rothstein also sentenced Dargan to serve 23 months of probation in addition to her parole, which means she will be under court supervision for approximately four years.
Rothstein stated that Dargan will be placed under mental health supervision while completing his parole and probation, and she ordered him to follow all treatment recommendations.
Dargan, a married mother of two, exhibited little emotion as sheriff’s deputies hauled her into custody to begin serving her jail sentence. Dargan’s husband, seated in the courtroom gallery, wiped away tears as the sentence was read.
While announcing the punishment, the judge appreciated Dargan’s previous public service in the military and her 15-year stint as a lab technician for Philadelphia police, but she also stated that Dargan’s actions at the shopping center were “reckless” and endangered many others.
“You did nothing to defuse the situation.” There needs to be some period of incarceration,” said Rothstein, who also decided that Dargan was experiencing a “mental health episode” at the time of the incident.
Rothstein went on to say that the fact that no one else was injured that day was due to “law enforcement professionalism.”
The investigation began at 2 p.m. on Nov. 2, when Plymouth Township police were summoned to the Guitar Center at the shopping complex in the 2600 block of Chemical Road for a report of a lady pointing a handgun at people’ heads while screaming incoherently. Dargan later brandished his gun at cops.
Last year, District Attorney Kevin R. Steele commended Plymouth Township Police Officer Benjamin Brunner and Plymouth Police Sergeant Andrew Adams for their heroism in de-escalating the incident and demonstrating “tremendous restraint as they worked with the woman to get her to comply with their commands and surrender.”
State sentencing guidelines recommended jail time for Dargan, and Assistant District Attorney Christopher James Stratigeas requested a guideline sentence, stating that it was warranted to protect the public but leaving the actual length up to the judge’s discretion.
“The crime here was pointing a loaded handgun at several Guitar Center employees’ heads as well as officers. It generated a high risk of harm in a busy parking lot. Stratigeas stated that if not for the courageous decisions of the Plymouth Police Department, the situation would have been considerably worse.
Defense attorney Daniel Schwartz blamed Dargan’s actions on a “mental health breakdown.” Schwartz claimed Dargan had been treated for mental health difficulties previous to the incident and that she had not taken her medicine on November 2.
“This was some mental health breakdown with no underlying intent to harm anybody,” Schwartz claimed, adding that Dargan had “a stellar life” before the Nov. 2 incident.
Schwartz claimed that Dargan has “limited recollection of what happened that day.”
Schwartz sought a time-served sentence for Dargan, credit for the 20 days she spent in a facility for mental health treatment, and no further jail, followed by probation.
Schwartz stated that Dargan has excellent family support and is “diligently receiving both psychiatric and psychological care.” Schwartz said that Dargan accepted responsibility by pleading guilty, has had a significant time of law-abiding behavior, and that “these circumstances are unlikely to reoccur.”
Brunner, one of the first cops to arrive at the Guitar Center, stated in a criminal complaint that “several customers and staff members were reportedly hiding in the back of the store while the female was walking around with the gun.”
As they arrived at the scene, Brunner and Adams noticed people fleeing the business and sheltering in the parking lot.
As authorities approached the establishment, Dargan exited with a black revolver holstered down her right side.
“I instantly instructed Dargan to lower the gun. Dargan refused to cooperate and proceeded to roam about with his revolver. Dargan began to place it on the ground before picking it back up. While I was giving Dargan commands, she pointed the rifle at me four times. The gun was still in its holster at this point,” Brunner claimed.
Dargan hurled several items, including the holster, to the ground. According to Brunner, Dargan then took “an aggressive stance” while pointing the revolver, which was no longer in the holster, squarely at officers.
After “a prolonged and tense intervention,” Dargan followed Brunner’s directions by lying down on the sidewalk with the revolver by her side and was arrested.
According to court documents, a loaded. A 38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver with a round in the chamber was recovered.
During the investigation, store employees told police that Dargan inquired about a $2,500 guitar and then told two customers she used to be in a band and was a veteran and a retired police officer and became more animated and loud, “making no sense as she spoke,” according to court documents.
Dargan appeared to get agitated and disoriented, brandishing the gun and pointing it at two employees’ heads. Dargan then walked away from the employees and around the store while holding the revolver before leaving, according to the arrest affidavit.
Authorities claimed Dargan was legitimately carrying the hidden handgun.
