Inmate gets county jail time for attempted theft

Sitton joined in effort to steal commissary items

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A Johnstown man who joined in an effort to steal commissary items on Sept. 15, 2022, from a fellow Blair County Prison inmate has rendered guilty pleas for a county sentence, followed by 10 years' probation.

Korey Cortez Sitton, 37, who was inside the jail cell where an inmate was beaten when he attempted to intervene and halt the theft, entered guilty pleas to criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, aggravated assault and assault by prisoner.

In exchange for Sitton's pleas -- and for guilty pleas to unrelated drug-trafficking offenses -- District Attorney Pete Weeks recommended that Sitton serve nine to 18 months' incarceration, followed by 10 years' probation, the sentence that Judge Jackie Bernard imposed.

Weeks, who negotiated the sentence with defense attorney Ted Krol, acknowledged to Bernard that Sitton's conduct during the incident was not at the same level as his convicted co-defendants.

In August, co-defendant Richard Allen Ewing, who was identified during trial as the person who directed the theft leading to the assault, was sentenced to 20 to 40 years' incarceration.

Co-defendant John Allen Jukes of Altoona, identified during trial as the person who repeatedly punched the inmate, received a sentence of 18.5 to 37 years' incarceration.

On Sept. 15, 2022, Sitton and three other inmates -- Jukes, Kyler Luckadoo and Delano Brown -- gained entry to the jail cell to steal an inmate's commissary items, leading to a fight with an inmate who attempted to intervene.

The victim, then 40, suffered broken facial bones, eye injuries and pain that he told a jury was 10 times worse than he ever imagined.

During the Ewing/Jukes jury trial, prosecutors called upon Sitton to offer testimony.

"He's always been forthcoming," Weeks told Bernard. "He never suggested a version of events that wasn't true."

Krol acknowledged that his client is to be credited for time served, which will fulfill the county sentence and could allow him to apply additional credit toward a pending state parole violation.

Krol assured Bernard that his client understood that it would be up to the state Department of Corrections to decide how much credit can be applied to address the state parole violation.

Bernard also asked Sitton to recognize that neither she nor the attorneys could guarantee what decision the state will make.

Online court records indicate that Sitton has been in the county prison since March 24, 2022, when he was arrested and charged with possession with intent to deliver heroin/fentanyl on two dates in February 2022.

Bernard, who accepted Sitton's pleas, told him that as part of his sentence, he must participate in cognitive behavioral therapy to explore the reasons behind his behavior. She told him that instead of choosing to bully his fellow inmates, he could have been their protector and guardian.

"I hope you rethink those choices in the future," the judge said.

Sitton told Bernard that he holds a barber's license and after he's out of prison, he intends to resume that trade in Johnstown.

The sentencing order also requires Sitton to pay a portion of the $1,200 restitution the victim requested, with convicted co-defendants paying the rest. Besides Ewing and Jukes, that includes co-defendant Eric Dostal, the former corrections officer who unlocked the cell door where the beating occurred. In September, Dostal pleaded guilty to a first-degree felony count of aggravated assault and was sentenced to 10 years' probation.

Co-defendants Luckadoo and Brown, who rendered guilty pleas in November and December respectively to address their roles in the theft and beating, are scheduled Jan. 11 for sentencing before Bernard.

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