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Court dismisses ‘frivolous’ appeal

Williamsburg man fails to convince judges his sentence was excessive

A Williamsburg man has failed to convince the Pennsylvania Superior Court that his three- to 10-year state prison sentence for illegal possession of a firearm was excessive.

In an opinion issued Wednesday by Superior Court Judge Judith F. Olson, the appeal of Corey Nelson Lykens, 30, was dismissed be­cause the defendant’s appeal was found to be “wholly frivolous.”

Two other appeals court judges, Maria McLaughlin and Gene Strassbuger, joined in the opinion.

Lykens’ trial attorney, Assis­tant Public Defender Anthony H. Kattouf, also considered the ap­peal frivolous and asked to withdraw from further representation of Lykens.

The Superior Court, after a lengthy procedure, ruled that Kattouf could withdraw.

In his appeal, Lykens argued that Blair County President Judge Elizabeth A. Doyle should have imposed a lesser sentence than the three to 10 years he received as the result of his guilty plea on July 10, 2017, to the gun offense and related charges.

Lykens was arrested by state police on March 18, 2017, and charged with a series of offenses that included possession of a prohibited firearm, aggravated assault, simple assault, disorderly conduct, drug offenses, harassment and resisting arrest.

He agreed to accept a plea agreement presented by the prosecution to the gun charge, simple assault, resisting arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Doyle sent him to the Depart­ment of Corrections on a sentence that also included a concurrent sentence of one to two years on the resisting arrest charge.

The Superior Court opinion pointed out that in questioning the length of his sentence, Lykens was presenting a challenge to the discretion that is within the power granted to a judge.

If he wanted to preserve his right to appeal from the sentence, he should have objected immediately to the sentence or filed a petition after the hearing to reconsider the length of his sentence.

Neither he nor his attorney met that criteria.

“On appeal, (Lykens) claims that the trial court abused its discretion by imposing a harsh and excessive sentence,” the opinion stated.

A judge’s sentence “will not be disturbed absent an abuse of discretion,” it continued.

It concluded that Lykens did not object to his sentence at the sentencing hearing and did not file post-sentence motions.

“Therefore, (Lykens) waived any challenge to the discretionary aspects of his sentence,” according to the opinion.

Since he waived the issues, his claim is considered “frivolous,” Olson stated in the opinion.

The opinion went further, noting that the panel considered Lykens’ excessive-sentence issue and found it also was “frivolous.”

Judge McLaughlin also filed a separate statement about the case, pointing out Lykens agreed to plead guilty in exchange for the three- to 10-year prison sentence.

She stated, “He therefore cannot challenge the discretionary aspects of his sentence.”

Lykens is serving his sentence at the State Correctional Institution at Albion.

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