John Patrick Stiver News Today

kstephens@altoonamirror.com HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Blair County district attorney’s office is again considering use of a computer-generated animation during an upcoming murder trial. District Attorney Pete Weeks referenced the animation on Monday in court where Judge Timothy M. Sullivan indicated that pretrial motions for Isiah Solomon Payne, 32, of Philadelphia, should be scheduled for mid-May. Weeks said he thought the animation, used for the first time last year, was an effective tool in he...

kstephens@altoonamirror.com HOLLIDAYSBURG — An Altoona man who testified a year ago about an alleged jailhouse murder confession has been sentenced to 10 years’ probation on two felony drug offenses. Judge Wade Kagarise handed down the sentence Tuesday to Robert Allen Poullos, 40, who has been out of jail on unsecured bail since April 2019. The probationary sentence requires Poullos to undergo drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations and to pursue recommended treatment. Defense attorn...