Attorney requests court order to get Penn State assistant athletic director Tim Bream on the stand

In a turn of events, one defense attorney attempted to call Penn State assistant athletic director Tim Bream to the stand late in the morning Thursday.

Bream, the adviser for the Beta Theta Pi house, has been referred to by several defense attorneys throughout the Timothy Piazza preliminary hearing for his alleged role in the bid acceptance night and beyond. Earlier in the morning, attorney Karen Muir again questioned Bream’s role, going so far as to imply he had directed fraternity members to delete group messages discussing the event.

In messages between brothers, Ed Gilmartin allegedly directed a second brother to delete group messages so “people can’t get screenshots,” saying it was “Tim’s idea as a precaution.”

Attorney Leonard Ambrose announced his wish to call Bream to the stand, acknowledging that Bream was not in the courtroom Friday. Instead, Philipsburg-based private investigator Jeffrey Johnson took the stand.

Johnson, a former state trooper, testified to the numerous times he attempted to serve Bream with a subpoena to appear in court, noting that he reportedly spoke with an individual who identified himself as Bream on the phone who agreed to meet but never showed up.

Ultimately, Johnson said he served the subpoena with an unnamed administrative assistant who was “in charge of the Lasch Building” where Bream worked, and with a Penn State attorney.

Ambrose requested that a court order be issued requiring Bream to appear as a witness or be held in contempt. District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller argued that neither of the individuals served constituted an applicable person to serve in Bream’s absence.

Court broke for lunch before District Judge Allen Sinclair issued a ruling.

This story was originally published August 11, 2017 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Attorney requests court order to get Penn State assistant athletic director Tim Bream on the stand."