CLEARFIELD- One of the state prison inmates involved in a riot at the State Correctional Institution at Houtzdale was given a lengthy prison sentence Wednesday.
Richard Adams, 35, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy/aggravated assault, assault by prisoner, criminal conspiracy/assault by prisoner, riot, disorderly conduct and criminal conspiracy/disorderly conduct before President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman. Ammerman sentenced him to a total of 15 to 30 years in state prison.
Adams, currently an inmate of SCI Benner, is in the prison system serving a life sentence for a 2001 Philadelphia murder case. The new sentences will run consecutive to his current sentence.
It was noted that Adams currently has a Post Conviction Relief Act petition pending in the murder case. The new sentence was made consecutive because there could be a change to his life sentence following the appeal, according to court personnel.
The charges stem from a riot at the Houtzdale prison April 28, 2015. According to testimony at the recent trial for a co-defendant, Norman Wothman, Adams threw a baseball into the face of another inmate, causing him to fall to the ground.
Adams then began kicking him. When a corrections officer approached Adams, he ignored his requests for him to stop and turn around.
Other officers came to assist the first officer. Adams then turned, and took a fighting stance. Three officers struggled to get Adams handcuffed while several other inmates got involved. The men and another officer that tried to help were kicked and punched by the group.
According to the affidavits of probable cause, four officers needed to be treated at UPMC Altoona for their injuries that included lacerations to the head, facial contusions, concussions, injuries to necks, arms, wrists and ribs.
Wothman pleaded guilty during his trial and is scheduled to be sentenced in September. The third inmate originally charged in this case, Yafest Oliver, 27, now an inmate of SCI Smithfield, signed a plea agreement and is also scheduled to be sentenced in September.
Two more inmates Bahair Stafford, 29, and Aki D. Jones, 40, have similar charges in the court system. One additional inmate, Isaiah Samir Lakeem Hall, 25, has been charged but his case has not yet had a preliminary hearing.
For more detail on the riot, click here.