DA: West Hills sergeant's death remains an open case

David Hurst, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Jun. 23—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Ten days after his death, the passing of a West Hills Regional Police sergeant remains an open investigation.

But investigators are still awaiting reports from "multiple" agencies" before they can reach any conclusions, Cambria County District Attorney Gregory Neugebauer told The Tribune-Democrat on Thursday.

Neugebauer declined to delve into specifics about Sgt. Michael Beblar's passing — or the nature of the investigation — without a final cause and manner of death.

"When we're able to release that information, it will be released by multiple agencies," Neugebauer said.

West Hills Police Chief Edward Fisher was out of the office Thursday and not reachable for comment, but police Detective Sgt. Dean West said the department is unable to comment while the county's investigation is still underway.

Any time a police officer passes — whether by natural causes or otherwise — there are standard procedures that authorities must follow in the aftermath.

By nature, law enforcement officials are involved in an ongoing number of cases — oftentimes as the sole investigator and sometimes even as a direct witness to an incident that led to criminal charges, Neugebauer said.

He cited a traffic stop-turned-DUI arrest as one example.

As is standard protocol, those cases will need to be reviewed to see if they can still be prosecuted.

"The (U.S. Constitution) has a confrontation clause that gives a defendant the right to face a witness in court — and if (a deceased officer is that only witness), we may not be able to proceed with that case," said Neugebauer, whose office prosecutes Common Pleas cases countywide.

Without elaborating, Neugebauer said his office is awaiting information from other agencies in order to do a complete review on the West Hills sergeant's cases.

Beblar worked for decades in law enforcement, including Dale Borough and Upper Yoder, before rising to the ranks of full-time sergeant with West Hills.

He's being mourned in the Johnstown area by friends and family as a "top-notch" officer who was dedicated to his community as well as fellow officers across the region.

Beblar served as a Cambria County SERT sniper, tasked with protecting fellow responders when they were tasked with gaining entry into often dangerous situations.

Beblar died June 13 at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, according to his obituary.

Neugebauer said he hopes to be able to release additional information in the next week to two weeks on the investigation.