BEDFORD — While some appeared to accept the plea bargain terms handed to former District Attorney William Higgins on corruption-related charges, a few Bedford County residents expressed shock and frustration at the agreement’s promise of no jail time.

Higgins pleaded guilty Wednesday to numerous misdemeanor charges alleging he exchanged sexual favors for overly lenient sentences of female drug dealers and for revealing the identities of undercover informants.

A plea bargain offered by the Office of the Attorney General guaranteed no incarceration or filing of felonies, but supervision and fines remain for the county court to decide.

Mary Helsel, a Bedford County resident who was present at Higgins’ arraignment, said she was stunned to witness what happened in court.

“I was amazed that a sentence that could’ve been 62 years ended up to be zero in prison. I don’t understand how you could plea bargain that much, plea bargain your whole guilt away basically,” Helsel said. “I think it’s sad that he is actually going to walk away from this with not one day spent in jail.”

Helsel added that she thinks Higgins enabled drug use in the county, and the former DA losing his pension is not a “big penalty for him.”

Lisa McDannell, another county resident, agreed.

“If it would’ve been anybody else, they would’ve went to prison,” McDannell said. “The working class of Bedford County, if it would’ve been them, they would’ve went to prison. Because he was a district attorney, he’s getting the pass whether he loses his law license or not.

“Our judicial system here will not gain our trust back unless he gets jail time. They just sort of wiped it in our faces because he did not get jail time,” she added.

Phil Kennett, a retired resident, said he thinks allowing Higgins to avoid prison sends the wrong message to the community and will create another generation of “scofflaws” who see someone like Higgins get away without jail time.

While the county retirement board of trustees — which includes the commissioners, chief clerk and treasurer — unanimously approved the withdrawal of the county’s contributions and interest to Higgins’ pension Friday, the state of his law license has yet to be determined by the disciplinary board of the state Supreme Court.

Higgins and his attorney have 20 days from the conviction or guilty plea to file to the disciplinary board, according to Marcee Sloan, board prothonotary and hearing coordinator.

That means they would have to file the guilty plea to the board by June 19.

Although some stated their dissatisfaction with the plea bargain, Office of Attorney General Com­munications Director Joe Grace said the office stands by its decision.

“The power that he wielded as district attorney to perpetrate these crimes, we’ve taken that away,” Grace said. “His benefits that accrued to him as district attorney while he was perpetrating these criminal acts are being taken away. His state pension is being taken away. … It is very likely he will lose his law license for this.”

“The tools of the crime that he used to perpetrate these crimes on the good people of Bedford County, we are taking away,” he added. “To us, that is justice. It is just. And we think it’s an appropriate result in this case.”

Steven Passarello, Higgins’ defense attorney, said the Office of Attorney General largely governed the parameters of the plea deal.

“If my client accepted the plea, the plea bargain and the plea agreement, obviously, he found the terms of that plea to be acceptable to him in order for him to accept it,” Passarello said. “My view of the plea agreement, if my client is willing to accept the plea, then obviously it’s acceptable to me.”

Passarello said it is the defendant who makes the ultimate choice to accept or reject plea bargains.

Commissioner Josh Lang said there is really nothing more to say about the plea bargain, commenting on how the case went through a legal process.

“I know there are people on both sides of the topic as far as what was imposed, but Judge Ling has to comply with the parameters that were set in the plea bargain,” Lang said.

State Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford, said the prosecution and defendants reached the plea bargain and that he and others are not privy to the information behind the agreement.

“I trust that the system will make sure that justice is served one way or the other,” Topper said. “But obviously, just this entire case has been extremely disturbing, and the trust that has been lost by the general public and the judicial system as a result of this behavior, that’s something that all of us who are part of the system need to try and restore.”

Topper said no one is in a great position to comment about the plea bargain because no one was present for negotiations or knows the information that the attorney general has.

“This case is ongoing,” Topper added. “I can’t say whether this was the right decision or the wrong decision.”

Mirror Staff Writer Shen Wu Tan is at 946-7457.