Burglar gets state prison term
A Clarion County man who was stabbed several times after breaking into a home in Fairview Township was sentenced Wednesday to 5 to 10 years in state prison.
Patrick C. Bookwalter, 36, of Rimersburg was given credit for a year and 36 days time-served by President Judge Thomas Doerr, after a brief hearing in which one of the victims in the break-in, Savannah M. Blust, told Doerr that she wanted to “see as much justice as possible.”
Blust, 24, told Doerr that she “kinda lives in fear” after the events of June 8, 2017, when Bookwalter and two other men broke into her Petrolia Road home in an attempt to steal proceeds of an illegal drug business.
“I don't even like leaving my window open on a nice summer night,” Blust told Doerr Wednesday.
Bookwalter pleaded guilty June 21 to felony burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary, after what police say was a failed attempt to burglarize a home shared by Blust and Macklin C. Haye, 24. Police say Blust and Haye were selling marijuana and THC wax out of a house on the 300 block of Petrolia Road.
Both Blust and Haye ultimately pleaded guilty to drug-related charges stemming from the case, and were sentenced to county jail and probation.
Their drug business attracted the attention of Bookwalter, Michael L. Bure, 36, of Worthington, Armstrong County, and Joseph R. Painter, 34, of Kittanning, Armstrong County. Police say the trio broke into the home through a basement door and Bookwalter, armed with pepper spray and a handgun, assaulted Haye after finding him asleep in the living room.
As the two men struggled, Blust repeatedly stabbed Bookwalter, who pointed his gun at the couple before fleeing the home empty-handed with Bure and Painter. He later called 911 and was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital with four stab wounds to his back.
Bookwalter later admitted his involvement to police and claimed that Painter had planned the break-in and recruited him to participate.
Painter, according to online court documents, pleaded guilty July 10 to conspiracy to commit loitering and prowling at night. Prosecutors dismissed or withdrew all other charges against him as part of that deal, according to court documents. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 22.
Bure continues to await further court proceedings, according to online court documents. He is charged with numerous felonies including burglary, robbery and conspiracy. His case is scheduled to go to trial in early August.
Bookwalter on Wednesday apologized for the break-in and told Doerr that he regrets participating in the attempted robbery.
“My actions that night will haunt me for many years to come as well,” he said.
