BELEFONTE — After nearly three hours of a jury deliberation, Scott A. Emel was found guilty yesterday of homicide while driving under the influence and two additional counts of DUI.

He was also found guilty of two summary offenses related to reckless driving.

Emel killed Penn State librarian, Kim Fisher, and his golden retriever on Jan. 7, 2000, when Emel was driving along First Avenue in College Township.

Emel, 22, will be sentenced Jan. 29 and is facing a maximum of ten years in prison.

Assistant District Attorney Stephen Sloane and Emel's attorney Joseph Amendola gave animated closing statements to jurors. Sloane concluded the debate portion of the trial by mentioning the three 20-ounce alcoholic drinks and after-dinner drinks ingested by Emel before the accident, on which the case's controversy centered around.

"Anyway you cut this . . . to suggest alcohol played no role in this case is ludicrous," Sloane said.

Judge Tom Kistler gave jurors a run-down of the charges and explained the elements necessary to convict Emel with homicide while driving under the influence, which included Fisher's death and Emil's driving under the influence. Kistler also said it was necessary for the drinking to be direct cause of Fisher's death.

During deliberations the jury was permitted to view several pieces of evidence. Pictures of the crime scene, a diagram of the area, and Fisher's shoe, which served as key evidence in estimating the impact with which Emel's car hit Fisher, were offered as evidence to the jury.

After the guilty verdict was heard defense attorney Amendola said he was not surprised with the outcome.

"The verdict wasn't a surprise. It was an uphill battle from the beginning," Amendola said.

Although Sloane was prosecuting for the maximum sentence of ten years in prison, Amendola is hoping to get Emel's sentence reduced.

Amendola said he is hoping that the court will consider a three- to six-year sentence, since Emel is not a repeat offender and because he cooperated with police before and after his arrest.

Even though Amendola is looking to reduce the sentence Emel is facing, he has not yet made any post-trial motions.

The reaction by family members to the verdict was quiet. Fisher's sister and brother-in-law squeezed hands tightly and Emel's family shuddered when the verdict was read.

"Their (Emel's family) hearts go out to the Fisher family and their son . . . no one's a winner here," Amendola said.

Sloane agreed and said this case only amplifies a message made consistent by cases and trials of this type.

"Drinking and driving is a cliche because it's true. When something happens like this, you can't really call it an accident . . . I don't think the jury had a hard time seeing the evidence in this case," Sloane said.