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City man gets 2.5 years in DUI accident

HOLLIDAYSBURG — An Altoona man who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI and related offenses was sentenced Monday to 2.5 to five years in prison, followed by five years of supervision.

Herbert A. Cofer, 54, apologized in court to the victim for what Cofer said was a low-speed accident on Oct. 9, 2020.

The victim, according to Assistant District Attorney Ian Hauser, continues to deal with headaches and related financial disputes with his insurance provider.

Defense attorney Julia Burke pointed out that the victim wasn’t wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, when the victim’s head hit the windshield.

Altoona police, who responded to the accident at Union Avenue and Fifth Street, talked to witnesses who said Cofer’s vehicle went through several intersections without stopping before striking the victim’s vehicle on Union Avenue.

At the crash site, police described Hofer as “acting erratically” and refusing commands. Police secured a search warrant for a blood test.

President Judge Elizabeth A. Doyle recognized Cofer’s apology to the victim as a factor in her decision to hand down a state prison sentence below the mitigated range of the state’s sentencing guidelines.

The judge said she also recognized Cofer’s need for mental health treatment, with more options available at a state prison than in the county prison.

Burke asked the judge for a “lesser” sentence so Cofer’s release from incarceration wouldn’t rest with the state parole board. The defense attorney said that when Cofer had case managers to help him with his mental health issues, he stayed out of trouble with police.

Hausner asked Doyle to consider a sentence of five to 10 years in a state prison, followed by five years’ supervision. The prosecutor pointed out that after the crash in Altoona, Cofer was arrested again five months later. Altoona police pulled Cofer over on March 7, 2021, and found that inside his vehicle, he had a tin with nine bags of suspected crack cocaine and a burnt marijuana blunt on the passenger seat.

While in court Monday, Cofer addressed that arrest with a plea to possession with intent to deliver. He was sentenced to 18 to 36 months incarceration, to be served at the same time as his sentence of 2.5 to five years.

Cofer also submitted a guilty plea to recklessly endangering another person to address charges that UPMC Altoona police filed for an Nov. 18, 2021, incident at the hospital where he was taken for a blood test. A sentence of 12 to 24 months was handed down, also to be served concurrently.

While the victim of the March 7, 2020, incident offered no statement in court, the judge offered an apology to him.

“If I thought putting Mr. Cofer in jail for 50 years would take away your injuries, I’d do it,” the judge said.

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

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