Former Tyrone doc gets probation for trespassing

Rizvi leaves court in dramatic fashion upon hearing judge’s decision

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A former Tyrone physician who claims he was wrongly convicted of defiant trespass in Blair County Court allowed a courtroom door to slam behind him on Tuesday after receiving a sentence of six months' probation.

"There should be no sentence," Dr. Hil Rizvi told Blair County Judge Jackie Bernard, who convened Rizvi's sentencing hearing to address a jury verdict handed down in April.

Rizvi, who represented himself at trial, told the jury he was in a dispute with the First National Bank branch in Tyrone and had no choice but to use the bank's drive-thru on Oct. 14, 2020. He said he went there to get his name on a cashier's check the bank issued.

The bank, however, had notified Rizvi on Sept. 2, 2020, that as of Sept. 30, 2020, it was closing his account and he should stay off bank property. When seen in the drive-thru, bank personnel contacted Tyrone police.

Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Thomas recommended a one-year probationary sentence in light of the third-degree misdemeanor conviction. When Thomas proposed that the sentence include a mental health evaluation, Rizvi objected and said he was evaluated in 2018 and cleared.

Bernard included the evaluation in the sentence while recognizing that a prior one might exist.

Online court records indicate that Rizvi, who held a Pennsylvania license to practice medicine for more than 20 years when it was revoked in 2018 after his pursuit of licenses in Maine and Ohio drew scrutiny. Rizvi appealed the loss of his Pennsylvania license to the U.S. Eastern District Court, but in March 2021, it dismissed his appeal.

In Blair County Court on Tuesday, Rizvi indicated that he is living in West Virginia but returns to Blair County, where he stored medical equipment for a highway emergency treatment center he seeks to establish.

Bernard told Rizi his probationary supervision could be transferred to West Virginia with consent of the county's parole and probation office.

When the judge asked Rizvi if he wanted a copy of the presentence investigation completed in preparation for Tuesday's sentencing, Rizvi said he wasn't interested. He also raised objections during his trial about the proceedings and questioned Bernard's rulings.

After the trial, Rizvi tried to challenge his conviction by appealing to the state Superior Court, but in September, that state court quashed his presentence appeal.

In court Tuesday, Rizvi said he intends to appeal and name people, including Bernard, who will be held personally liable.

After Bernard cautioned Rizi about making threats, she repeated her directive for him to immediately report to the county parole and probation office in light of the sentence.

When he started mumbling about not knowing where the office was, she repeated the directions as he stood at the door to the courtroom. Then he left and the door slammed behind him.

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