CLEARFIELD – A 48-year-old DuBois man was sentenced to state prison after pleading guilty to the stabbing of his neighbor in Oct. 2006.
David Rowan pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person. He was sentenced to 4-to-10 years in a state correctional institution, is prohibited from alcohol or controlled substances, must submit to DNA testing at a cost of $250, and was placed on two years of concurrent probation. Rowan was also ordered to have no contact with the victim in the case and was ordered to pay fines and costs.
At a preliminary hearing last year, David Kelege, Rowan’s neighbor, stated that he was outside working on a car when Rowan yelled to him that he owed him $100 damage that was done to Rowan’s lawn mower. Kelege stated that he called Rowan an expletive, and that Rowan came at him.
An altercation ensued, and Kelege said he eventually got Rowan away from him. Kelege said he was walking back to his residence when he turned around, Rowan was about five feet from him with a knife. Kelege said he started kicking out to get Rowan, who was jabbing the knife, away from him.
Kelege said he was unsure of when it happened, but he noticed that he was stabbed in the abdomen. Kelege said that he ran away and called 911. He was airlifted to Altoona Regional Medical Systems for treatment, and was in the hospital for three days. Kelege has a surgical wound about 8-10-inches long from exploratory surgery in relation to the stabbing wound.
Officer Matthew Robertson testified that when Rowan was taken into custody, he admitted to stabbing Kelege, and that he continued to slash at Kelege.
According to Robertson, Rowan told him, “After I stabbed him, he still kept coming toward me. I couldn’t believe it. So I kept stabbing at him.”
Rowan also gave officers the location of his knife. When it was found between his mattress and box-spring, Robertson noted the knife was wet. When Robertson asked Rowan if he had washed the three-inch blade, Rowan allegedly replied, “Yea, that’s what you do after you gut a pig.”
The Honorable Judge Paul E. Cherry took into account Rowan’s comments to police in determining his sentence. Rowan apologized to Kelege before the sentence was handed down. Cherry also took that into account, noting that Rowan had shown no remorse for his action until the time of sentencing.