HOLLIDAYSBURG — A 22-year-old Altoona man accused of using a handgun to strike a person on the head in downtown Altoona, then later fleeing from police seeking to arrest him on a warrant, was sentenced Thursday to four to eight years in a state prison.

Blair County Judge Wade A. Kagarise imposed the sentence after Tristan Alan Dykeman entered guilty pleas to aggravated assault, firearm charges, resisting arrest, robbery, simple assault and related offenses.

Dykeman, who was scheduled for a two-day jury trial Thursday and Friday, entered the pleas for a sentence up to Kagarise to decide.

Assistant District Attorney Salua Kamerow recommended a sentence of four to 10 years that would fall within the state’s standard range sentencing guidelines for the offenses. She also cautioned Kagarise against leniency in light of Dykeman’s youth, pointing out that his criminal history included thefts in 2016 and 2017.

The prosecutor also repeated the words that Dykeman spoke during a recorded telephone call from the county prison a few days after his arrest: “I was about to ‘poof, poof, poof’ cause I was mad.”

Kamerow said that remark — which would have been presented in court had the case gone to trial — was directed at the Altoona police officers who arrested him on Oct. 21, 2022, after a foot chase. Criminal charges indicated that at the time of the arrest, Dykeman had a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun with one round in the chamber and 10 rounds in the magazine.

The charges also indicate that police tackled Dykeman and used a Taser to take him into custody, then took him to UPMC Altoona for treatment of injuries.

The officers had an arrest warrant for Dykeman, who was accused a day earlier of confronting a man on the 800 block of Chestnut Avenue about an unpaid drug debt. Charges indicate that Dykeman held the gun next to the man to demand payment, then used the gun to strike the left side of the man’s face. Police said they were summoned after the victim sought refuge at a nearby business.

Defense attorney Mark Zearfaus asked Kagarise to recognize that Dykeman’s actions were tied to his drug use.

“I see a big change in him after 14 months in jail,” Zearfaus said. “He detoxed from drugs and drugs were the cause of this … when he was actively using.”

Dykeman also acknowledged that his actions were tied to drugs.

“I made a lot of stupid choices due to being under the influence of drugs,” he said.

Kagarise told Dykeman that he will be credited for time served and have opportunities after finishing his sentence.

“Don’t get caught up with the (prison) environment and the people you meet in there,” the judge said.

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