Indiana County Judge Thomas Bianco is scheduled to preside over a non-jury trial today for an Indiana man who is accused of firing a rifle inside the office of the Westgate Apartments in White Township last September.
67-year-old Joel Mansell is accused of firing two shots through the ceiling at the apartment complex because he was reportedly angry that his electricity had been shut off. Two workers in the office and a man who lived in the apartment above the office were unhurt. Mansell fled the scene as police were responding, but was taken into custody moment later at the Southtowne Plaza parking lot.
Mansell is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, three counts of recklessly endangering another person, and two counts of terroristic threats. He was scheduled for trial by jury in April but requested the change to the non-jury format.
Also in county court today, 57-year-old Bradley Hay of Rockwood, Somerset County, will be sentenced for guilty pleas to DUI, simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and five summary traffic violations for an incident last December in Brush Valley Township. In a plea bargain, two felony charges of aggravated assault will not be prosecuted. Hay was seen driving erratically on Route 56 and was pulled over on Snyder Road. He resisted arrest and kicked a state trooper.
30-year-old Micki Lynn Bryner of Black Lick will be sentenced for guilty pleas to possession with intent to deliver in two separate cases, both from July of 2015. 47-year-old Joy Noel Kelly of Saltsburg will be sentenced for theft by deception in a case from May of 2012. 26-year-old Adam Cessna of Shelocta will be sentenced for forgery. His case originated in September of last year. 39-year-old Michelle McGary of Rural Valley will be sentenced for bad checks in a case from last August.
