Neighbor dispute ends in plea deal

McCommons given probation in case of threatening, harassing residents

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- An Altoona man accused of threatening, stalking and harassing his neighbors pleaded guilty to 16 charges filed in September by Altoona police, thereby gaining release from the Blair County Prison to begin what will be five years of supervised probation.

Judge Wade A. Kagarise imposed the probationary sentence Thursday and told William Scott McCommons Sr., 64, that he would be returned to the county prison, then released. McCommons has been incarcerated for almost six months, since his Sept. 8 arrest.

"I'm happy," McCommons said as he was being escorted from the courtroom, where he apologized for his actions.

McCommons' probationary sentence requires him to avoid all contact with specific neighbors on the 1100 block of 16th Avenue who were identified as victims in his criminal charges. Kagarise said that includes non-verbal gestures, social media contact and Facebook postings about the victims or issues in the neighborhood.

In addition, the imposed sentence requires McCommons to restrict outdoor lights to 100 watts and illumination to his property. He also is forbidden from using outdoor strobe lights.

District Attorney Pete Weeks and Chief Public Defender Russ Montgomery negotiated the probationary sentence and related conditions, prior to presenting it to Kagarise.

Weeks said the victims weren't available to come to court on Thursday where McCommons agreed to render guilty pleas to one felony and 15 misdemeanors and be sentenced immediately. But the victims were in favor, Weeks said, of having the case resolved with the recommended conditions.

Weeks, who described the case as unusual, said the conditions were composed in an effort to avoid future confrontations, like the ones the neighbors were dealing with last year that had the potential for escalation.

"This plea agreement," Weeks told the judge, "allows us to demand certain things of the defendant that would not have otherwise been possible."

Weeks also said that if McCommons' case had gone to trial and resulted in convictions, the sentence on his offenses likely wouldn't have exceeded the six months he has already served.

When Altoona police arrested McCommons on Sept. 8, he portrayed himself as the victim of unprovoked harassment. He accused neighbors of trespassing on his property.

When investigating his claims, Altoona police arrested only McCommons, after he allegedly told them that he intended to use a metal pipe to attack the next person who walked by his residence.

Police also said McCommons told them he bought a set of 5,000-watt flood lights to "light up his neighbor's homes even more" and would install them if police failed to keep the neighbors from trespassing.

Charges against McCommons accused him of making threatening remarks to neighbors, putting them in fear of going outside or allowing their children to play outside. One neighbor provided police with printed copies of messages that McCommons posted online indicating that he had been watching her and knew of her daily activities.

Police also reported, in charges filed against McCommons, that he had repeatedly called 911 to report neighbors' crimes, which were deemed to be unsubstantiated.

In court on Thursday, McCommons rendered polite responses when asked about his entry of guilty pleas for the negotiated sentence and the related conditions.

When Kagarise asked McCommons if he understood that a violation of the conditions could land him back in prison, McCommons answered: "I do, sir."

Kagarise also included a clause in the sentencing order allowing the county parole and probation office, which will supervise McCommons' probation, to enter his residence for verification or enforcement of the conditions.

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