Milesburg resident faces five to 10 years in prison

Milesburg resident Mick Lee Hockenberry, 21, was sentenced to five to 10 years in state prison yesterday by Centre County Judge Thomas K. Kistler on two counts of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence in 1997, said Centre County Assistant District Attorney Stephen Sloane.

Sloane said he had requested a six- to 12-year sentence, with three years for each death plus additional time for giving false reports to law enforcement officers. He added the mandatory minimum for homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence is three years.

Hockenberry was the driver in an August 1997 accident that resulted in the deaths of Troy E. Kellerman, 27, and Timothy L. Corl, 29, passengers in his vehicle. Hockenberry was driving on North Atherton Street when his truck struck a median strip, rolled onto its roof and crushed another vehicle before landing on a nearby lawn. Hockenberry, who was then 20 years old and had a blood alcohol level of .084 percent,

sustained minor injuries, Sloane said.

The sentence given, which includes four to eight years for both deaths and one to two years for giving false reports, was "somewhere in the middle" of what he and the defense had requested, Sloane said, adding his office was pleased with the sentence.

Karen Muir, Hockenberry's attorney, said she felt the sentence handed down was fair, even though she had requested concurrent sentences. Concurrent sentences would mean Hockenberry could serve the sentences at the same time.

-- by Kelly Bradish