Johnstown man's request to appeal resentence to Supreme Court denied

Nov. 22—HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a Johnstown man's request for permission to appeal his sentence for a probation violation to the high court.

Darron Darell Javan Gibson, 29, had made the request in a petition after the Pennsylvania Superior Court in May upheld his sentencing on the probation violation.

Gibson had entered a guilty plea on March 15, 2017, to flight to avoid apprehension, resisting arrest, public drunkenness, and possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 15 to 30 months in county jail, followed by 54 months of county probation.

Cambria County Probation Officer Toni White testified at a probation violation hearing in July 2021 that, while attending the Day Reporting Center, Gibson had failed two check-ins, missed three scheduled assessments and had positive drug screens for multiple substances. She also testified that he was caught attempting to use fake urine to pass a drug screen.

Gibson appealed the case to the state Superior Court, questioning whether the trial court abused its discretion in imposing the resentence by failing to offer specific reasons for doing so that were required by law and whether, specifically, the court failed to take into consideration Gibson's need for rehabilitation for drug dependence in lieu of incarceration and failed to provide an adequate statement of reasons for the sentence imposed.