Ventura court date scheduled for April
The court date for a man accused of killing a Penn State student was postponed to the April term of court because of motions filed by the defense and the need for additional time to consult with experts, Centre County District Attorney Mike Madeira said.
Josephy A. Ventura is accused of fatally stabbing Penn State senior Michael Donahue on Feb. 17 at Club Love, now Lulu's Nightspot, 129 1/2 Pugh St.
Ventura's defense formally requested an expert consultation to determine the direction of the knife thrust, which they believe could possibly show if Ventura was acting in self-defense, Madeira said.
Ventura is charged with first- and third-degree murder. The last development in the case occurred in October when a judge ruled against a defense motion and decided to make the alleged murder weapon and statements Ventura made the night of the incident to police admissible as evidence in court.
Local Uni-Marts sue national company
The owners of two State College Uni-Mart locations, 1381 E. College Ave. and 1200 S. Atherton St, filed a lawsuit Jan. 2 against the Uni-Mart company for allegedly making the stores appear more profitable than they actually were.
The owners are among a group of individuals who purchased branches from the State College-based Uni-Mart convenience store chain. They claim that pertinent financial information was omitted at the time of sale.
The four named plaintiffs are seeking class-action status for all buyers of the Pennsylvania chain locations during 2004 and 2005 to receive compensation for fraud, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract.
The suit was filed by attorney Joseph Lach, of Kingston, and Todd Collins, of the Philadelphia law firm Berger & Montague.
Uni-Mart's lead trial counsel, John F. Stoviak, said he does not believe the situation is appropriate for a class action suit because he sees "no fraud or misrepresentation whatsoever."
County hires a new public defender
Centre County's salary board approved the hire of a new county assistant public defender Thursday, said David Crowley, the county's chief public defender.
Bobbie Rabuck, Judge David Grine's law clerk and a former intern in the public defender's office, will start as an assistant public defender on Jan. 22. Crowley said Rabuck will be picking up a regular case load immediately.
The salary board approved the hire within the public defender's office after reviewing recommendations.
Entry-level pay for an assistant public defender is $40,716 and ranges up to about $63,000, Crowley said. Including Rabuck, the office has six assistant public defenders and Crowley.
The public defender's office hasn't increased its staff in about five years, and Crowley said the addition of a fourth county judge and a seventh assistant district attorney made it necessary to create the new position "to keep pace." Also, the opening of a mental health unit two years ago at the state correctional facility at Rockview required the public defender's office to handle additional mental health hearings, Crowley said.
