MERCER COUNTY Man gets sentence for DUI homicide

The DUI conviction was the second in seven years for the man.
BY MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. - Joseph Stemple Jr., 42, of Bethlehem, Pa., was sentenced to nine to 20 years in prison Friday for a drunken-driving accident last November that claimed the life of two New Castle residents.
Stemple pleaded guilty in August to homicide by vehicle, a felony, and driving under the influence of alcohol, a misdemeanor. It was his second conviction in seven years for DUI. He was sentenced by Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Francis Fornelli.
Several witnesses told police Stemple was driving north in the southbound lane of Pa. Route 60 about 5:05 p.m. Nov. 5, 2003, when he struck an automobile occupied by Norma and Donald Romanio. Mrs. Romanio was pronounced dead at the scene, and her husband was flown to St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, where he later died.
Stemple was also ordered to pay $17,984 restitution to the victims' son.
Also sentenced Friday was Richard Barker, 51, of District Road, Fredonia, who was sentenced to nine to 18 months in jail followed by five years' probation for firing a gun inside his home March 13 and narrowly missing several people inside.
Barker pleaded guilty in August to possessing firearms without a license, a felony, because he had a previous burglary conviction, terroristic threats, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, all misdemeanors.
According to court documents, he pointed a loaded handgun at his wife, Tina, at a York Street, Greenville, address, then fired, narrowly missing her head. The bullet traveled from the second floor to a downstairs room where two people were sitting. It was later recovered in basement insulation.
Other cases
Sentenced this week by Judge John Reed were:
UDameco Jackson, 32, of First Avenue, Farrell, six to 12 months in the Mercer County Jail, concurrent with another term he is already serving. He pleaded guilty in September to retail theft, for stealing $73 worth of groceries and dog food from Shop N Save, 2199 E. State St., Hermitage. The offense is a felony because it is his third or subsequent conviction.
UMark Kocis, 22, of Pine Hollow Boulevard, Hermitage, 12 months in jail followed by 18 months' probation for theft by unlawful taking, a felony, and forgery, a misdemeanor. According to court documents, on Sept. 15, 2003, he broke into a basement door of a residence on Pine Hollow Boulevard and took checks, credit cards, a computer system, a DVD player and other items. Then in January, he signed another man's name on two checks totaling $300 at the Mercer County Federal Credit Union, 559 North Hermitage Road, Hermitage.
UDiane Ohler, 32, of Glenwood Avenue, Warren, Ohio, one year's probation for misdemeanor retail theft. On Jan. 9, according to court documents, she stole six pairs of pants and two shirts valued at $339 from Kaufmann's, 3515 E. State St., Hermitage.