Portage man sentenced to probation after guilty plea in May knife incident

Katie Smolen, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·1 min read

Nov. 9—EBENSBURG, Pa. — A Portage Borough man was sentenced in Cambria County Court on Tuesday for assaulting police officers who tried to take away his knife after he threatened to stab himself earlier this year, authorities said.

Brandon Robert-Lyle Chappell, 35, was sentenced to 18 months probation by Judge Tamara R. Bernstein after he entered a guilty plea to a charge of resisting arrest in October.

Chappell said that he just wanted to put the incident behind him and that he had been on medication and that he "feels better."

At the time of the incident police, tried to take Chappell into custody after learning that family members had petitioned for a 302 warrant, which gives police the authority to take a person to the hospital for a mental health evaluation.

According to a criminal complaint, Portage police were investigating a reported burglary at a home on May 23.

A witness said the man was armed with a knife and had threatened to cut himself. He ran out the back door and later returned. Police said the man began speaking about things that were not real and said people were in his house stealing things.

According to the complaint, after the man refused to drop the knife, police used a stun gun.

The man was taken to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, where a county crisis intervention member provided police with a copy of the 302 warrant.