Man sentenced in 6 cases
A state Intermediate Punishment program sentence was handed down to a man charged in six cases — ranging from burglary and theft to assault — in Butler County Court on Friday.
Harold D. Wilson Jr., 24, was sentenced to 24 months in the state program and ordered to pay any restitution by Judge Timothy McCune. That sentence involved a charge of felony burglary, to which Wilson pleaded guilty on May 5.
He was evaluated for the program after being transported to the state correctional institution in Camp Hill, and it was determined in August that he was qualified.
That program, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections website, includes at least seven months of incarceration, a minimum of two months in a community-based therapeutic program and a minimum of six months in outpatient treatment.
The balance of the 24 months consists of supervised reintegration into the community, which involves DOC staff monitoring their progress in the community and some additional services or treatment, based upon their individual needs and progress.
If he is unsuccessful in the program, an alternate plea exists that calls for 18 to 36 months of imprisonment in a state correctional institution.
Wilson's attorney, Jeffrey Thompson, said his client has been cooperative through the process, participating in inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation programs.
“SIP will be of great benefit to him,” he said. “This gives this young man a good chance to reintegrate back into society.”
Wilson was also sentenced in the other five cases, to 12 months' probation concurrent with the state program for charges of misdemeanor simple assault and two counts each of misdemeanor theft, retail theft charges and summary driving on a suspended license, to which he also pleaded on May 5.
The crimes occurred between February 2015 and September 2016. The burglary incident occurred on Sept. 19, 2016, when it was reported that a Penn Avenue apartment had been burglarized, with coins, jewelry and cell phones stolen. It appeared the home was entered through a front porch window, which was pushed off its frame, police said.
Investigators noticed what appeared to be several partial fingerprints on the outside of the window and those fingerprints eventually led to Wilson's identification after seven months of investigation.
Wilson also previously admitted his involvement in a burglary in Center Township on Feb. 24 and 25, 2015, stealing jewelry. He pleaded to misdemeanor theft in that case.
He also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault, which occurred on Dec. 24, 2015, where he injured another person in Butler Township; misdemeanor theft in an incident that occurred on July 28, 2016, where he stole $281 from a person's bank account at Citizens Bank in Butler Township; misdemeanor retail theft in an incident on Sept. 15, 2016, at the Butler Township Walmart, where he stole a TV and home theater system valued at $441.57; and misdemeanor retail theft and summary driving under suspension after an incident on Sept. 22, 2016, at the same Walmart, where he stole another TV.
