Man sentenced for threatening police with bow and arrow

A Howard man charged with aggravated assault against the police was sentenced Monday at the Centre County Courthouse to some time in prison.

Troopers responded to a welfare call in May when they found Gary L. Rupert III had locked himself inside the residence, the CDT previously reported. When police were able to enter the residence, they were met by Rupert, who reportedly drew a bow and arrow into a firing position at the troopers.

Troopers were able to deploy their Tasers and take Rupert into custody. According to the prosecution Monday, Rupert had prepared a suicide note that indicated his desire to commit suicide by police.

Rupert’s attorney, Patrick McAreavy, told the court his client at no point intended to harm the troopers and in fact had a letter from one of the troopers, detailing the trooper’s belief that incarceration was not the right option for Rupert and that counseling would be a better option.

Rupert entered a guilty plea Tuesday to multiple misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats, simple assault and reckless endangerment. Felony charges of aggravated assault were dismissed.

He was sentenced by county President Judge Pamela Ruest to three-to-six months incarceration in the Centre County Correctional Facility with credit for 167 days already served, followed by more than seven years probation. The sentence includes a $25 fine and required mental health counseling.

In other sentencings:

▪ Patrick J. Clegg, 39, of Oberlin, entered guilty pleas Tuesday to counts of criminal trespassing and theft and was subsequently sentenced to time at the Centre County Correctional Facility.

The charges stem from separate incidents reported in late September, according to court documents. State College police indicated that officers were dispatched for a report of a vehicle along West College Avenue that had been running for more than 10 hours.

Officers contacted the owner, police said, who stated he had given Clegg permission to take the car to a dealership but nowhere else, saying the car had been stolen. Clegg had then driven the car to State College to meet with a ex-girlfriend.

He was found later opening and rummaging through two different vehicles, police said.

In a separate call, Clegg had reportedly entered a West College apartment, police said, telling the resident he was running from the police and had been to the apartment the night before. The resident and the roommates reported having never seen Clegg before.

Witnesses reported seeing him entering a second apartment further down the block before he was taken into custody, police said.

Clegg pleaded guilty to two felony counts of criminal trespassing and two misdemeanor count of theft from a motor vehicle. He was sentenced by Ruest to three-to-23-and-a-half months at the Centre County jail with credit for 44 days served, a $100 fine and restitution in the amount of $3,365. He will also serve two years probation after his jail time.

▪ A State College man charged with possession with intent to deliver will serve at least two years state time.

Bryan S. Heckman, 21, of Bellefonte, was charged with multiple felony drug charges related to separate incidences in September 2016 and June of this year. The CDT previously reported that authorities had been tipped that Heckman was making drug deliveries around the State College area.

Drugs reportedly found on Heckman at the time of his arrest included marijuana, cocaine and LSD, police said.

He pleaded guilty to five separate felony charges of possession with intent to deliver Monday, and was sentenced to 24-60 months state time with credit for 30 days already served. He must also pay a $100 fine, the costs of prosecution and $80 in restitution.

This story was originally published November 7, 2017 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Man sentenced for threatening police with bow and arrow."