CLEARFIELD – Jurors deliberated for approximately an hour Monday before finding a Fallentimber woman guilty of threatening to stab a Coalport man in December of 2012.
Patricia Louise Waite, 26, of Fallentimber was found guilty of terroristic threats. She was found not guilty of simple assault. Waite will appear for sentencing within 60 days.
Assistant District Attorney Warren B. Mikesell II presented the case for the commonwealth. Waite was represented by defense attorney Matthew Michael McClenahen of State College.
The victim, John A. Weakland, testified first for the commonwealth. On Dec. 2, 2012, he received a text message from his father, Brian Weakland, who asked him to come to his Coalport residence for an emergency.
Upon entering the residence, John Weakland said his brother, Michael Weakland, started screaming at him. John Weakland said when he asked where their father was and what had happened, his brother continued to scream at him.
According to John Weakland, his brother “came at him” and told him to get out. When his brother cocked his fist back as though to punch him, John Weakland said he put him on the ground to subdue him.
While holding his brother on the ground, John Weakland said he heard his father yell that Waite, his brother’s girlfriend, had two knives. He said that Waite threatened him by saying, “I’m going to expletive stab you.”
John Weakland said that his cousin, Matthew Queen, signaled for him to get up and they ran out of the residence. He said that Waite was holding two knives – one in each hand – with the blades pointing downward.
“I felt my life was in danger,” John Weakland told jurors. He said that his father was struggling to restrain Waite, who was approximately 19 inches away from him when he was holding down his brother.
Under questioning by McClenahen, John Weakland testified that he was neither stabbed nor injured during the incident. For this case, he also indicated that he and his brother, Michael Weakland, were charged with harassment in October of 2013 but refused to testify against each other, resulting in them being found not guilty.
Brian Weakland testified next for the commonwealth. On Dec. 2, 2012, he said there had been a lot of “hollering” and “slamming around” going on at his residence.
According to him, Waite entered the residence and slammed the door, which rattled all of the windows. In the kitchen, he started slamming the cabinet doors, saying, “This is my house. If anyone is going to be slamming things around, it’s going to be me.”
He said Waite was cursing when she went back the hallway. He said when his son, Michael Weakland, came into the kitchen area he started knocking things all over. When he went to get his cellular phone, he said that his son tried to stop him from doing so.
Brian Weakland said he left his residence and went to a nearby cemetery to text message three family members. He wanted assistance in dealing with his son, Michael Weakland. When no one initially showed up, Brian Weakland said he called 9-1-1.
Brian Weakland said he returned to his residence when his son, John Weakland, and Queen arrived there. He said Michael Weakland started to confront John Weakland, who grabbed him and subdued him on the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, Brian Weakland said he observed Waite with two knives, pointing downward and facing John Weakland.
According to him, he had to retrain Waite and attempt to knock the knives from her hands. He said he told Queen to get John Weakland and to get out of the residence. He said that Waite was strong and it was difficult to restrain her.
Brian Weakland said he was deeply concerned when he saw Waite in possession of the knives. He said he didn’t want to hurt Waite by restraining her; however, he neither wanted himself nor John Weakland to be stabbed by her.
Under questioning by McClenahen, Brian Weakland admitted that he’d consumed beer over an approximately five-hour period on Dec. 2, 2012. After that when asked by Mikesell, Brian Weakland said despite consuming beer, he was still able to go to the cemetery to call for help and later on restrain Waite.
Trooper Michael Moskel of the Clearfield-based state police testified last for the commonwealth. Upon arrival he said that John Weakland was upset after being contacted by his father because his brother, Michael Weakland, was “flipping out.”
Moskel said that John Weakland related that upon entering the residence, he and his brother, Michael Weakland, had exchanged words. Afterward Michael Weakland had come at him and he put him on the ground to subdue him. Moskel said that John Weakland related that he never struck his brother.
During an interview, Moskel said that Waite related she was upset because she fell while carrying her child and clothes when she arrived at the residence earlier that night before the incident. Further, he said she was upset as no one had come outside to help her.
He said that Waite related that Michael and John Weakland had engaged in a fight. He said Waite related she had gotten a knife only to scare John Weakland because she believed he was going to hurt Michael Weakland. He said that Waite then turned over the knife that she had during the incident.
According to Moskel, he served a subpoena on Brian Weakland for the trial a couple of weeks ago. At that time, he said Brian Weakland advised him that he didn’t have the knife that Waite used during the incident. Moskel said Brian Weakland had previously found two knives, which he believed Waite used, when he was putting his residence back together.
Michael Weakland testified for the defense. On Dec. 2, 2012, he said Waite was upset because she slipped and fell and no one had come outside to help her. He said his father, Brian Weakland, was slamming cabinet doors around and “acting like a child,” which he didn’t like with his son being there.
Michael Weakland said that his father was intoxicated and his brother, John Weakland, had also been drinking that night. He said he could smell alcohol on his brother while he was being held to the ground by him. Michael Weakland said that after John Weakland got him on the ground, he started punching him.
According to Michael Weakland, he is 5 feet, 7 inches tall and approximately 130 pounds. However, he said that his brother, John Weakland, is probably 6 feet tall and approximately 200 pounds. Michael Weakland said that he didn’t have the physical size and ability to go after his brother.
Waite, he said, yelled for John Weakland to get off of him. He said Waite had one knife and yelled that she wasn’t playing around. “After that everything stopped,” he said. “If she hadn’t, I would have gotten it good.”
Michael Weakland said that his father, Brian Weakland, had restrained Waite. He said Waite never attempted to stab John Weakland.
Under questioning by Mikesell, Michael Weakland said he was face down and his brother was on top of his back. He said that John Weakland was pounding on the back of his neck. Michael Weakland said the day after the incident he reported injuries to Moskel at the state police barracks.
Mikesell also asked Michael Weakland if he’d wrestled in high school. When he said yes, he confirmed that he was “very good.” When asked by McClenahen, Michael Weakland said that although he wrestled, he never competed 70 pounds above his weight class.
In her testimony, Waite said she and Michael Weakland, her boyfriend, had just moved into Brian Weakland’s residence on Dec. 2, 2012. She said she was carrying her child and fell in the mud and when she went inside, Brian Weakland started slamming things.
According to her, Michael Weakland got mad at his father for acting like a child in front of their son. She said when John Weakland arrived at the residence he started running his mouth to Michael Weakland.
Waite testified that John Weakland was holding Michael Weakland down on the ground and beating him. As a result, she got a knife and told John Weakland that he needed to leave because she wasn’t playing around.
Waite said that John Weakland didn’t really react until Queen signaled for them to leave the residence. Waite said she got the knife because she was afraid that John Weakland would beat up Michael Weakland and possibly hurt her and her son.
Waite told jurors that she never intended to stab John Weakland and she never moved toward him. When Brian Weakland restrained her, she said she wasn’t even within arm’s reach of John Weakland and probably seven feet away from him the entire time.
Under questioning by Mikesell, Waite said she only had one knife during the incident. She said she took it with her when she left while she was afraid of what John Weakland might do when she walked by him on the way out.
During his rebuttal, Mikesell re-called Brian Weakland, who said Waite had apparently fallen before coming inside his residence Dec. 2, 2012. When asked about her appearance, he said neither she nor her son appeared muddy. Brian Weakland said she dropped her son down upon entering his residence and headed back the hallway swearing.
Mikesell also re-called Moskel to testify about the injuries reported by Michael Weakland the day after the incident. He said he observed “very minor injuries” in the form of red marks on Michael Weakland’s back.
When asked about his observations of John Weakland, Moskel said he didn’t appear to be under the influence of alcohol as previously testified by Michael Weakland. He said John Weakland was very cooperative and appeared to be fine.
Moskel said when handling the investigation, he viewed the altercation between brothers, John and Michael Weakland, to be minor as compared to the actions of Waite.
So far as Waite, Moskel said she told him she was carrying in her child and clothes. He said she didn’t appear to have mud on her clothes when he interviewed her that night.
When asked about the inside of Brian Weakland’s residence, Moskel said it was in “disarray” with things knocked all over the place.
McClenahen pointed out to Moskel that there wasn’t any mention of alcohol in his report. However, he said alcohol was a factor in the incident. Moskel said although Brian Weakland had consumed alcohol, he was still able to communicate with him.
During closing arguments, McClenahen said he was surprised that Mikesell focused his rebuttal on mud. “Then again, this case is about as clear as mud,” said McClenahen.
He was troubled by how testimony varied between the commonwealth and defense witnesses during the trial. He reminded jurors that if they weren’t sure, Waite wins in the event of a tie.
McClenahen said that Waite wanted to get John Weakland to stop beating up Michael Weakland and it worked. He said it wasn’t her intent to terrorize John Weakland but to get him to stop.
McClenahen also focused on the fact that it took 10 months for charges to be filed in the case. “An attempted stabbing should be a high priority case,” he said, “But it was looked at as another domestic in rural Pennsylvania.”
McClenahen said the “icing on the cake” was that Moskel still doesn’t know how many or which knives were used during the incident. He closed with the analogy that the quarterback fumbled the ball and the defense recovered it.
Mikesell countered, saying this case wasn’t about if it was a good or bad investigation on the part of Moskel. Instead, he said it’s about if Waite took a knife and threatened to stab someone. “If she did, it’s a terroristic threat,” said Mikesell.
According to him, Waite claims she fell before going inside the residence. In opening statements, he said her attorney related she was carrying groceries, in her own testimony she related presents and in an oral report to Moskel she related clothes.
“It goes to her credibility,” said Mikesell.
He said that Brian Weakland goes to the cemetery to call for help because Michael Weakland is “out of control.” Mikesell pointed out that Michael Weakland claims to have been punched; however, Moskel didn’t observe any injuries to support this.
Mikesell said that after claiming he got his “butt kicked,” Michael Weakland refuses to testify against his brother, John Weakland, who gets found not guilty of a harassment charge as a result.
In closing, Mikesell argued to jurors it doesn’t matter which knife/knives or how many knives. He said what does matter is John Weakland’s perception and what he felt at the time of the incident. “Patricia just wanted to scare him. Guess what? It worked,” said Mikesell.