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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- An Altoona man has pleaded no contest to drug delivery resulting in the death of his mother and guilty to related drug charges.
Scott Anthony Tilson, 38, presented the pleas Thursday in Blair County Court where Judge Jackie Bernard imposed the negotiated sentence of 3.5 to 15 years' incarceration, with eligibility for entry into the state's Drug Treatment Program, followed by 10 years' probation.
Defense attorney Kristen Anastasi said Tilson, who has been in the county prison since his Aug. 2, 2022, arrest, will be eligible in about three months to be considered for the state's program. A decision on his entry rests with the state Department of Correction, after Tilson is transferred to a state prison.
District Attorney Pete Weeks said in court that he agreed to the recommended sentence in light of mitigating factors that recognized Tilson's mother as the victim and Tilson's initial cooperation with police as to how the heroin was acquired. The person identified as the supplier, Weeks said, is also now deceased.
"This is a case illustrative of the dangers of drug use," Weeks said.
On Aug. 2, 2022, emergency responders went to an Altoona residence on the 2500 block of Beale Avenue where they found three unconscious people: Tilson and his parents, Brian S. Tilson and Teresa Kathy Tilson. While the responders were successful in using Narcan to revive the son and father, they transported the 54-year-old mother to UPMC Altoona, where she died.
Police said emergency responders went to the residence after an 8-year-old juvenile couldn't awaken the adults and sought a neighbor's help. The child told police that before they passed out, she went with Brian and Teresa Kathy Tilson to their friend's house so they could get pain medication.
In court Thursday, Bernard advised Tilson that his no contest plea to drug delivery resulting in death involves no admission of guilt but recognizes the evidence as sufficient for a conviction.
Anastasi said that her client was unwilling to plead guilty to the drug delivery resulting in death. So in negotiating the plea, she and Weeks settled on the no contest plea for that charge and guilty pleas to the related charges of criminal conspiracy, possession with intent to deliver heroin with fentanyl and criminal use of a communication device.
In exchange for those pleas, Weeks withdrew charges of endangering the welfare of a child, corruption of minors and possession of a controlled substance.
Bernard advised Tilson that if he is admitted to the state's drug treatment program, he should make an effort to do well not only for himself but also for his father.
In April, Brian S. Tilson, 59, rendered guilty pleas to two offenses in connection with his wife's overdose and was directed into the county's Drug Court program that requires him to attend regular court sessions and follow the program's requirements.
"Your dad is doing well in Drug Court," Bernard advised the son, who said he regularly talks with his dad.
The sentencing order also recognizes Tilson's option to seek an early termination of his probation if time passes without violations.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.