In a moment of sanity among elected officials, the South Middleton School Board unanimously voted to retain Boiling Springs wrestling coach and driver's ed teacher Rodney Wright, who has a pending charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. This is a welcome decision...
State College Criminal Law Blog
Pennsylvania Coach and Teacher Charged with Drug Paraphernalia Keeps Positions
In a moment of sanity among elected officials, the South Middleton School Board unanimously voted to retain Boiling Springs wrestling coach and driver's ed teacher Rodney Wright, who has a pending charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. This is a welcome decision...
Public Drunkenness and Indecent Exposure Charges Arise From Alcohol Overdose
As a criminal defense lawyer in the same community as Penn State, I have represented my share of students who manage to tack on additional charges after being sent to Mount Nittany Medical Center following an arrest for public drunkenness and/ or underage drinking....
Penn State Grad Founded Cyber Drug Market Known as “Silk Road”
It turns out that the founder and operator of the "Silk Road" website, which had frustrated law enforcement for the past several years, has a masters degree from Penn State. Ross Ulbricht, who earned a masters in material science and engineering from Penn State in...
Retail Theft in Pennsylvania is Not “Just Like a Traffic Ticket!”
As a criminal defense lawyer with an office two blocks away from Penn State University, I get calls every day from otherwise intelligent students who suffered a momentary lapse of judgment. Although most lapses of judgment occur when drunk, retail theft is a crime...
Burglary, Robbery and Theft are Distinct Crimes under Pennsylvania Law
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...
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...

