CLEARFIELD – The second of three men involved in a riot in Coalport in June 2019 pleaded guilty Friday during plea and sentencing court.
Police say the men, Cole Brown, now 20, Charles Smith, now 20, and Jasiah Williams, now 19, along with five juveniles traveled from Indiana, Pa., to Coalport to engage in a fight with a resident there and clashed with them near 531 Main St.
Two juveniles with the defendants’ group had ball bats that were used during the altercation. Two other known juveniles reportedly had handguns that were discharged.
The borough was put on lockdown with people being asked to stay in their homes due to an active shooter in the area and rumors persisted on Facebook that the activity was gang related.
In all nine people were charged in the case with six of them being juveniles.
Prior to sentencing Friday, David Hopkins, attorney for Brown, noted that his client had drug and alcohol problems and has addressed those issues by spending time in a rehabilitation facility.
Deputy District Attorney Trudy Lumadue noted that Brown had cooperated with the investigation by helping identify the other actors.
President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman sentenced him to 41 days (time served) to one year in the county jail with two years consecutive probation for felony riot-plan/use firearm/weapon and misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
In January, Smith pleaded guilty to the same charges and was given a 30-day to one year county jail sentence with two years consecutive probation, according to a previous article.
The case against Williams is still moving through the system. The identities of the juveniles involved are concealed by law.
