As a criminal defense lawyer, it is a pet peeve of mine to hear people misuse the terms "burglary and "robbery." It is a common mistake for people to use these terms interchangeably, as if they are synonyms for the same crime. However, as any first year law student or...
Month: September 2013
Priest Charged with Sex Offenses on Penn State Scranton Campus May Have Defense
Police caught a Catholic priest engaging in a sexual act with a 15 year old boy on the Penn State Scranton campus in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, on September 19, 2013. Various sex offense charges have been filed against Rev. W. Jeffrey Paulish including involuntary deviate...
Guilty Verdict in State College Terroristic Threats and Fire Arms Case
Michael Afuwape of Philadelphia was found guilty of terroristic threats and firearms not to be carried without a license following a non-jury trial before Judge Pamela Ruest in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas on September 24, 2013. Police alleged that when a...
DUI for Penn State Students is Most Common in Senior Year
I have been a criminal defense lawyer in State College, Pennsylvania long enough to have noticed certain patterns in the Centre County criminal justice system. One such pattern is that a Penn State student is far more likely to be charged with DUI during his or her...
Penn State Canning Weekends See Reduced Crime in State College
As a criminal defense lawyer in State College, Pennsylvania, I can tell you that we see a greatly reduced call volume following a Penn State THON Canning Weekend. Any local police officer will tell you that Canning Weekends are a welcome break. Although only a...
Robbery Charges Against Student in Spiderman Costume
There are usually a rash of crimes committed by costumed defendants at the end of October, but a 21 year old Pitt student go into the Halloween spirit early. Jonathan Hewson is accused of trying to rob a convenience store near his apartment in Pittsburgh's Oakland...
Domestic Violence-Related Assault Charges Arise Following Threesome
Everyone has heard of a "drug deal gone bad," but few have heard of a "threesome gone bad." Then again, when two of the threesome participants are cousins, you could say that it never had a chance of "going well." Assault charges have been filed against a Myrtle Beech...
Pennsylvania DUI Suspect Detained By McDonald’s Employees
Underpaid McDonald's workers seeking a living-wage have a stronger argument, at least in Halifax, Pennsylvania, where McDonald's employees recently made a "citizens arrest" of an intoxicated man who had driven to the fast food joint with his minor child in tow. In...
Can Penn State Curtail Alcohol Offenses by Serving Beer at Beaver Stadium?
On its face, it would appear that serving beer inside Beaver Stadium during Penn State football games would be throwing gasoline onto a fire. How could granting access to even more alcohol than the countless gallons of booze already guzzled in the Beaver Stadium...
Possible Assault Charges for Enraged Pennsylvania Prep Quarterback
A Pennsylvania high school football player with aspirations of winning a D-1 scholarship faces possible criminal charges after an on-field incident on September 6, 2013, in which Hamburg High School quarterback Joey Cominsky ripped the helmet off the head of an...