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Pa. court upholds inmate’s conviction, sentence in DUI

Ogden serving 24 to 48 months

The Pennsylvania Superior Court this week upheld the conviction and prison sentence of a Clearfield man for DUI and aggravated assault by a vehicle, charges that stemmed from a 2017 traffic accident on Rockton Mountain, Clearfield County.

Tim Ogden, now 59, was sentenced last year to a state prison term of 24 to 48 months by Clearfield County President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman.

Following a bench trial on June 1, 2021, Ammerman found Ogden guilty of the charges.

Ogden, through his attorney Frederick M. Neiswender of Clearfield, appealed to the Superior Court, contending the evidence was insufficient to show that Ogden had consumed enough alcohol prior to the accident that caused him to be “incapable of safe driving.”

The appeal also contested that the evidence showed he had caused the accident.

The final issue was whether the judge had sufficiently reviewed photographs of the accident that were submitted by the defense to demonstrate that Ogden had not caused the accident.

A Superior Court panel that included Judges Mary P. Murray, Jack A. Panellla and James G. Collins reviewed Ammerman’s handling of the case and concluded that the defense had failed to show the county judge abused his discretion when he found Ogden guilty.

The appeals court’s 13-page opinion, written by Murray, also found that Ammeman sufficiently reviewed the defense photographs, deciding that the defense argument that the “weight of the evidence” was not sufficient to convict Ogden lacked merit.

The Department of Corrections inmate locator indicated that Ogden is presently being housed at Gateway Erie, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.

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