Christopherj Schmidt News Today

Kenneth J. Piner, an Altoona man serving a lengthy prison sentence for his part in a cocaine ring that operated in the Altoona area more than a decade ago, has lost his attempt to have a new hearing in his case based on a recent report issued by the Blair County branch of the NAACP […]

The Pennsylvania Superior Court last week dealt former Altoona resident Charles A. Bellon a setback in his efforts to seek a reduction in his 31- to 46-year prison sentence on drug-related charges. In his petitions, which the court ruled untimely, Bellon sought a resentencing hearing, asked that an attorney be appointed to represent him, and […]

The Pennsylvania Superior Court has reversed a ruling by a Blair County judge that would have allowed an Altoona man to appeal his conviction on drug-related ch

Man loses bid for DNA testing he claimed would clear him of 1986 murder Updated Dec 21, 2020; Posted Dec 21, 2020 Scott R. Schaeffer, left, speaks with Tim Wolfe outside the Northumberland County courthouse in June 2019. Wolfe, whose father Rickey was murdered in 1986, supports Schaeffer’s claim he was wrongly convicted. Facebook Share SUNBURY – A Northumberland County man has lost an attempt to clear himself of a 1986 murder for which he claims he was wrongly convicted. Specially assigne...