HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Hollidaysburg man who last year seemed to be on the road to recovery from his drug addiction was sentenced Friday to seven to 14 years in prison.

Ryan J. Harshaw, 33, who rendered guilty pleas last June to felony drug offenses and gun law violations, was allowed to stay out of jail pending a presentence investigation and sentencing, so he could voluntarily enter a residential treatment program in Quakertown, as offered by Pyramid Healthcare Inc.

While Harshaw completed the treatment program, he never returned to Blair County Court for sentencing until Friday.

Harshaw, who was arrested April 30 after trying unsuccessfully to flee a Freedom Township police officer, became emotional in court as he addressed President Judge Elizabeth Doyle about his pending sentence for his crimes.

“I’m asking to get help,” Harshaw told the judge.

Defense attorneys Thomas M. Dickey and Kristen Anastasi tried to convince Doyle to impose a sentence allowing Harshaw to be considered for the state Department of Corrections’ boot camp program.

“Relapse is part of recovery,” Anastasi said. “He’s battled a severe addiction for over half his life, since he was 16 years old.”

The defense attorneys admitted that they were suggesting boot camp in light of the district attorney’s refusal to approve Harshaw for entry into the state prison’s Drug Treatment Program. Without DA approval, the state won’t admit Harshaw into the program that mixes incarceration, treatment and supervision options.

Assistant District Attorney Katelyn Hoover told Doyle that Harshaw has had chances to change his behavior and keeps reoffending.

“There is no reason for mitigation in these cases,” Hoover said.

Harshaw’s criminal record dates back to 2011 when he was sentenced to 2.5 to five years in prison to address five drug cases.

The guilty pleas he rendered in June to drug and gun crimes date back to August 2018, when he and a companion were found unconscious at an Altoona motel room. Police recovered 4 ounces of methamphetamine, $3,000 in cash and a stolen handgun.

Police filed additional drug charges against Harshaw in 2021 after investigating suspicious packages being delivered to his Hollidaysburg residence. They subsequently seized methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, cash owe sheets and other powdery substances.

Hoover also mentioned Harshaw’s failure to show up for sentencing in October, as promised, and his April 30 flight from police that stretched from East Freedom to Altoona.

Anastasi told the judge that Harshaw should have shown up for sentencing. But he recognized that he “wasn’t doing well” after completing the treatment at Quakertown and was “nervous” about the pending sentence, she said.

Anastasi called upon seven character witnesses to speak on Harshaw’s behalf, including former Hollidaysburg Area High School friends and addicts who described their difficulties with trying to stay sober.

Dickey proposed that Doyle consider a three- to 10-year sentence for Harshaw. The state will consider him for boot camp, Dickey said, if the minimum portion of his sentence is no more than three years.

As for the maximum portion of the suggested sentence, Dickey told Doyle: “That’s a lot of time for significant control over this young man.”

Doyle showed no interest in directing Harshaw toward boot camp.

“I don’t think boot camp will be sufficient … to meet his addiction need,” the judge said.

While Doyle spoke of Harshaw as an appropriate candidate for the state’s Drug Treatment Program, she also acknowledged that option wasn’t available in this case. She also described Hoover’s request for a sentence of 10 to 20 years as punitive.

In handing down the sentence of seven to 14 years, the judge directed that Harshaw undergo drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations and engage in recommended follow-up treatment available to state prison inmates.

When Harshaw appeared before her in June and rendered his guilty pleas, she told him at that time that his behavior, from that day until the day of sentencing, would be given heavy weight at the time of sentencing.

“He was on track to return and get a lenient sentence,” Doyle said. “But he made mistake after mistake after mistake.”

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.