— THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT

A man who fled the state Community Corrections Center in downtown Johnstown will face charges of escape and resisting arrest in Cambria County court.

David T. Lamb, 30, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday before District Judge Michael Musulin of Johnstown.

State police in Ebensburg said Lamb took off June 9 as he was being prepared to return to State Correctional Institution-Cresson on a parole violation. He had been serving a two-year felony sentence.

Troopers said Lamb was being searched in advance of being returned to the state prison when he ran down the hallway and out of the front door of the center at 301 Washington St.  

In other crime-related news:

Local case delayed

Peter Huff, a Cambria County man wanted in North Carolina for allegedly beating and robbing an elderly couple, had his case in Johnstown delayed Wednesday.

Huff, 68, of Sidman, was to appear before District Judge Leonard Grecek on aggravated assault, flight to avoid apprehension and related charges stemming from a high-speed chase in Johnstown on July 19.

Huff is accused of crashing his pickup into a city police cruiser.

But because Huff waived extradition, he first will be sent to North Carolina to stand trial for attempted murder.

Charge withdrawn

SOMERSET – William McTonic, 75, of Somerset was found not guilty of a summary harassment charge this week.

Another harassment charge was withdrawn Tuesday in an appearance before District Judge Arthur Cook of Somerset, authorities said.

McTonic still is accused of stalking a Somerset Township woman between July 30 and Aug 10. He will face that charge at a preliminary hearing.

McTonic made headlines last year when he was charged with killing his wife of three weeks.

The April 2009 shooting death of 73-year old Ruth Anne Henderson-McTonic remains an open case.

Charges against McTonic were withdrawn after District Attorney Jerry Spangler determined there was not sufficient evidence to take the case to trial. 

Sentences imposed

Two Johnstown men were sentenced for unrelated crimes in federal court Thursday by U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson.

Michael Simms, 28, was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of distributing crack cocaine. He also will serve five years supervised release, U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton said.

Simms, of the 300 block of Corinne Street, was accused of distributing five grams or more of cocaine on March 3, 2009.

James Clinton Cook, 79, no address given, was sentenced to two years in prison and two years supervised release and ordered to pay $40,689 in restitution to the Social Security Administration after being convicted of various violations of federal law, Hickton said.

Cook was accused of filing an application for a replacement Social Security card stating his name was James Linden Miller and giving a Social Security number that was not his on Jan. 2, 2008.

Cook also converted to his own use $40,428 in Supplemental Security Income benefit payments to which he was not entitled, Hickton said.

Weapon plea

EBENSBURG – A Johnstown man pleaded guilty Thursday in county court to having a prohibited offensive weapon and resisting arrest in an incident that occurred Jan. 25, 2009, at the Oakhurst Homes.

Kenneth Dwayne Ingram, 44, with addresses on Coleman Avenue and Daniel Street, will be sentenced Oct. 14 by Judge Norman Krumenacker.

Other charges, including burglary and stalking, were dropped by prosecutors.

Ingram was accused of entering a woman’s apartment and refusing her repeated demands for him to leave.

Police said that when Ingram was eventually taken into custody, he had a handmade weapon made out of a toothbrush handle with a sharpened point on it.

Also dropped were charges of robbery and terroristic threats in which Ingram was accused of grabbing a man, throwing him to the ground and stealing painkiller tablets from him

Jan. 23, 2009, at the Oakhurst Homes.

Assistant District Attorney Gary Jubas said the charges were dropped because “we

didn’t have a cooperating victim or witness.”

Drug plea

Marcellus Lumpkin, 30, of the 300 block of Decker Avenue pleaded guilty in federal court in Johnstown to one count of distributing cocaine base, commonly known as crack, U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton said Wednesday.

In connection with the guilty plea, U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson was told that Lumpkin is accused of distributing less than five grams of the drug on Sept. 24, 2008.

Gibson scheduled Lumpkin to be sentenced Feb. 10.

The Johnstown Police Department, Cambria County Drug Task Force and the FBI’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency conducted the investigation leading to Lumpkin’s prosecution.