July 27, 2011

By Phil Ray (pray@altoonamirror.com)
The Altoona Mirror

JOHNSTOWN - The suicide of a Blair County Prison inmate was “predictable” and “preventable,” an attorney for the man’s family told a federal jury Tuesday

Jeremy Corbin, 32, of Bellwood suffered from severe depression and other mental health issues when he was admitted to prison on the morning of Oct. 18, 2006, and tests administered by a corrections officer showed that Corbin was a suicide risk, attorney Andrew J. Shubin of State College said.

Corbin was placed in a special cell for inmates at risk but was released later that day into the general jail population by the prison’s forensic specialist, Jennifer Feathers, who determined he wasn’t at a risk.

Two days later, Corbin ended his life by using a bed sheet in his cell to hang himself.

During an emotional opening statement, Shubin said that had Corbin been allowed to stay in the suicide prevention cell in the prison, which had no bed sheets, he may be alive today.

The jury was shown a picture of Corbin and his family in better times, just two years before his suicide, when the family moved into a new home in Bellwood.

Pictures of the cells in which Corbin was housed in the Blair County Prison were displayed. (more…)

Sara Ganim
August 30, 2010
STATE COLLEGE — Two weekends into the fall semester, State College police say they are seeing a higher than normal number of alcohol-related calls downtown.

“This is a non-football weekend, not a special event,” said State College police Lt. Chris Fishel. “And we still had 88 people cited for various offenses.”

It comes as university officials are imposing harsher penalties for excessive drinking.

Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims said Monday that this year for the first time, any student cited for underage drinking will now have to go through the university’s judicial affairs process, along with paying the criminal fine. (more…)

Former Daily Collegian photographer Maxwell Kruger, Class of 2009, entered the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program Monday at the Centre County Courthouse, ending the two years he spent in the Centre County legal system in connection to the 2008 Ohio State riot.

Kruger, who was not on the Collegian staff at the time of the riot, was charged in 2008 with two counts of felony riot, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief, according to court documents.

But in September 2009 both felony counts and the count of misdemeanor failure to disperse were dismissed, according to court documents.

Kruger’s attorney Andrew Shubin did not comment on the terms of Kruger’s entrance into the ARD program, but he said this leaves Kruger with no criminal history in connection to the riot.

Sara Ganim - centredaily.com

BELLEFONTE — District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller will not pursue a criminal case against a student photographer charged with ignoring police orders to leave the 2008 State College riot that he was covering for the Daily Collegian newspaper.

In a prepared statement Thursday, Parks Miller said it’s in “the interest of justice” that she not continue the appeal started by her predecessor Michael Madeira.

Madeira had approved charges of inciting the crowd of thousands that gathered in Beaver Canyon after Penn State’s football team beat Ohio State that year. Police also charged photographer Michael Felletter with not leaving when police ordered.

Felletter was on assignment for the Penn State student newspaper. Police said that by taking pictures with large equipment, he was encouraging the crowd to act more rowdy.

The charges were thrown out by a judge, but Madeira appealed the case to the state Superior Court in August. Thursday, Parks Miller sent a letter to the Superior Court saying she will not continue the appeal.

“I’m really proud of him for fighting this fight and for not backing down and for understanding,” said Felletter’s attorney Andrew Shubin. “It shows a level of sophistication for a college student to understand the level of importance for fighting this fight and not giving in. I really do think that Michael understood he was fighting this not just for his own career but for the principles.”
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Shubin, who represented Felletter for free through the ACLU, has been fighting these charges since Felletter’s arrest, saying the arrest and charge are violations of Felletter’s First Amendment rights.

He said he appreciates the “careful and considerate review of the constitutional principles” by Parks Miller, who, in her campaign against Madeira last year, cited this case as one with which Madeira was wasting resources and exercising poor judgment.

The end of this case, Shubin says, “validates the long-standing First Amendment protections afforded by the courts to the media and their vital role in collecting and disseminating news.”

Parks Miller said in her press release that “while the police always have the ability to tell people to disperse in dangerous crowd situations and people should comply with those directives for safety reasons, based upon the specific facts of record in this particular case, we have chosen to discontinue this appeal.”

Read more:

By Greg Galiffa- Collegian Staff Writer

Penn State student and Daily Collegian photographer Michael Felletter finally got the news he has been waiting a year and a half to hear — charges filed against him stemming from the 2008 riot were dismissed.

In a March 11 press release, Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller announced she filed a motion to drop an appeal for the case, ending a protracted legal battle against Felletter.

“For almost two years now, I’ve been put through this judicial system, and now it is finally done,” Felletter (senior-visual journalism) wrote in an e-mail. “I feel closure.” (more…)

2008 STATE COLLEGE RIOT
Parks Miller dropping case of photographer
Sara Ganim

BELLEFONTE — District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller will not pursue a criminal case against a student photographer charged with ignoring police orders to leave the 2008 State College riot that he was covering for the Daily Collegian newspaper.

In a prepared statement Thursday, Parks Miller said it’s in “the interest of justice” that she not continue the appeal started by her predecessor Michael Madeira.

Madeira had approved charges of inciting the crowd of thousands that gathered in Beaver Canyon after Penn State’s football team beat Ohio State that year. Police also charged photographer Michael Felletter with not leaving when police ordered.

Felletter was on assignment for the Penn State student newspaper. Police said that by taking pictures with large equipment, he was encouraging the crowd to act more rowdy.

The charges were thrown out by a judge, but Madeira appealed the case to the state Superior Court in August. Thursday, Parks Miller sent a letter to the Superior Court saying she will not continue the appeal.

“I’m really proud of him for fighting this fight and for not backing down and for understanding,” said Felletter’s attorney Andrew Shubin. “It shows a level of sophistication for a college student to understand the level of importance for fighting this fight and not giving in. I really do think that Michael understood he was fighting this not just for his own career but for the principles.”
(more…)

Sara Ganim
STATE COLLEGE — Scott Marion never thought selling $35 worth of marijuana to a college buddy might land him in state prison for more than two years.

Sentencing guidelines for that kind of crime call for probation to 30 days in county jail — with one huge exception.

If you are caught selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school, state law says prosecutors can seek a two-year mandatory minimum sentence.

(more…)

September 30, 2009, Bellefonte, PA

District Justice Carmine Prestia dismissed furnishing alcohol to minors and related alcohol violations against Tau Epsilon Phi after a preliminary hearing in Centre County Central Criminal Court. The State College Police charged the fraternity with misdemeanors following a summer party at the house. The Commonwealth called an eighteen year old student, who had been cited for underage drinking and disorderly conduct after being caught urinating in bushes, to testify against the fraternity in return for favorable consideration from the District Attorney’s office. The student testified that he drank several beers at the fraternity house. The court agreed with Attorney Andrew Shubin’s argument that there was insufficient evidence linking the fraternity as a corporate entity to any criminal wrongdoing and dismissed all charges.