kstephens@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG A Tyrone man who broke into his girlfriend’s Altoona apartment in November has been convicted of criminal trespassing, witness intimidation, harassment and disorderly conduct.
The Blair County Court jury that heard the domestic violence case against Devin M. Miller, 30, handed down those verdicts Tuesday, along with additional verdicts acquitting Miller of burglary and obstructing justice.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 21 by Judge Daniel J. Milliron.
Prosecutors said they were pleased with the jury’s verdicts and credited Altoona police for their use of body cameras providing video, with sound, shown during trial.
“This is a case where police body cameras allowed jurors to see how the victim reacted on the day of the incident, an essential element in this prosecution,” First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith said.
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kstephens@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG A Blair County judge is asking for a new or updated presentence investigation to be completed before he resentences Kenneth Jon Piner Sr., now serving a 36- to 72-year sentence for his role in a Baltimore-to-Altoona drug ring.
Judge Daniel J. Milliron said Tuesday that he would keep the Altoona man’s resentencing on hold, pending receipt of an updated report.
Piner, now 60, is entitled to a new sentence based on a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that led to Pennsylvania’s mandatory sentencing procedures being deemed unconstitutional.
Piner’s resentencing has been on hold pending resolution of legal challenges he filed to his jury trial. In June, Milliron rejected Piner’s latest arguments, and no subsequent appeal was filed.
pray@altoonna mirror.com
An Altoona man, who continued to fight drug charges filed against him in 2010 even though he had already completed his prison sentence, has now lost his appeal before the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
Shawn Edward Gibson, who appeared before Blair County Judge Daniel J. Milliron last year concerning his release on bail from the State Correctional Institution at Pine Grove, said he was continuing with his appeal before the Superior Court because, “I want to clear my name.”
He maintained that he shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place.
Milliron had already indicated that Gibson was entitled to be resentenced on his charges based on a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, known as the Alleyne case, that found Pennsylvania’s mandatory sentencing laws unconstitutional.
kstephens@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG A competency hearing was put on hold Tuesday for the Hollidaysburg man who allegedly admitted to threatening the Hollidaysburg Area School District in November 2019.
Blair County Judge Daniel J. Milliron, who was to preside over the hearing for Javier Alberto Cantos Jr., agreed to the delay after learning that efforts are progressing toward having Cantos render guilty pleas to some criminal charges in exchange for a recommended sentence.
If those efforts to reach a plea do not work out within 60 days, then the competency hearing should be rescheduled, Milliron said.
Defense attorney David Beyer told the judge he has been talking to District Attorney Pete Weeks about a possible resolution addressing Cantos’ criminal charges, with guilty pleas to some felony offenses excluding ones associated with the school district threats.
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