MERCER COUNTY Man gets prison for part in fight

The victim was kicked and punched after he hit the ground.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- A Sharon man who took part in a bar fight that left another man dead was sentenced Tuesday to two to four years in prison.
Judge Thomas Dobson of Mercer County Common Pleas Court sentenced Jerrold Allen, 32, of Heinz Avenue, to the term for simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, both misdemeanors.
Allen also had pleaded guilty to making fictitious reports. For that, he was sentenced to the 268 days he already served.
The fight
Allen was involved in a fight last Nov. 16 outside the Blue Ribbon Tavern, 731 Broadway Ave., Farrell. Assistant District Atty. Bob Kochems said another man charged in the case punched the victim, Thomas Blakely, 39, of Third Street, Sharon, causing Blakely to hit his head on the sidewalk and suffer a fatal brain injury.
Allen was charged because after the victim hit the ground, he kicked and punched him, Kochems said. Blakely later died at UPMC Hospital in Farrell.
The fictitious reports charge resulted from false statements Allen initially made to the police, Kochems said.
Others sentenced
Several others also were sentenced Tuesday. According to court documents:
UTyrone Peagler, 43, of Hamilton Avenue, Farrell, was sentenced to three to six years for possession with intent to deliver 1.6 ounces of cocaine. In April 2002, he conspired with a woman at a Hamilton Avenue, Farrell, address to sell a large amount of crack cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The conviction carries a mandatory three-year minimum sentence.
UTodd Butler, 24, of East State Street, Sharon, was placed on 18 months' probation for theft from a motor vehicle and criminal mischief. On Dec. 5, he smashed windows to gain entry to vehicles parked on several Sharon streets, then stole items from several vehicles, including compact disc players, tools and audio cassettes.
UDale Cantrell, 30, of Rebecca Street, Masury, Ohio, was placed on one year's probation for receiving stolen property, a misdemeanor. He was also ordered to make restitution. Last September, he took a tool set, battery charger, torches and tools valued at $1,739 from Hardesty's Towing, 809 N. Water Ave., Hermitage.
UMichael Czerr, 43, of Mercer-West Middlesex Road, West Middlesex, was placed on 30 months' probation and ordered to make restitution for misdemeanor theft. Last Dec. 28, he took $1,000 worth of jewelry from a Fisher Hill, Sharon, woman.
UMaria DeJesus, 31, of Manhattan, N.Y., was placed on two years' probation for receiving stolen property, a misdemeanor. She was given 144 days' credit for time served. She pleaded guilty in the theft of $322 worth of clothes from the Grove City Factory Stores in Springfield Township.
UAnthony Delgros, 26, of Ohio Street, Sharon, was fined $2,000 for possession and sale of unstamped cigarettes. He also was ordered to forfeit the cigarettes and cash involved. He sold packs of cigarettes that did not have sufficient Pennsylvania cigarette tax stamps through a vending machine at Jacks Are Wild, 7501 Sharon-Mercer Road, Jefferson Township.
UBrian Prosser, 38, of Hadley Road, Hadley, was placed on 18 months' probation and ordered to make restitution for misdemeanor simple assault and harassment. On Jan. 29, he repeatedly struck a woman in the face, causing a fracture in her eye area. The assault occurred on Flick Road, Sandy Creek Township.
UJames Rigby, 19, of New Butler Road, New Castle, was placed on two years' probation for theft from a motor vehicle and recklessly endangering another person, both misdemeanors. One year of the probation will include day reporting. Rigby pleaded no contest to the offenses. Last Dec. 5, he smashed windows in vehicles on several Sharon streets and stole compact disc players and other items from them. On June 13, 2002, while provoking another man to fight, he encouraged a 3-year-old boy to join him, then carried him away from his home toward a busy intersection, over the protests of the child's mother. The mother chased Rigby, then forcibly took the child back. The episode occurred on Smith Avenue, Sharon.