Weyandt

A Pennsylvania appeals court on Tuesday issued an opinion in which it found that a Blair County judge failed to consider the state’s sentencing guidelines when imposing a probationary sentence in 2022 on a former Duncansville-area woman for drug-related offenses.

Blair County Assistant District Attorney Julia B. Wilt appealed the probationary sentence to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, contending it was below the mitigated range of the sentencing guidelines and was “excessively lenient and unreasonable.”

In an opinion written by Superior Court Judge Megan Sullivan and adopted by Judges Alice B. Dubow and Mary P. Murray, the review panel found former Blair County Judge Elizabeth A. Doyle “failed to adequately consider the sentencing guidelines, and, absent a starting point, we cannot conclude that the court set forth why (the defendant’s) case is compellingly different from the typical case of the same offense, such that a deviation below the applicable mitigated range is appropriate.”

The Superior Court panel then vacated the sentence and will send the case back to Blair for another sentencing hearing.

The case before the appeals court involved Nicole Lynn Weyandt, 47, who was arrested in 2021 as a passenger in an automobile that engaged in a high-speed chase along Route 764.

The vehicle, driven by Benjamin A. Otto, was fleeing from an Allegheny Township police officer attempting to make a traffic stop.

The vehicle eventually came to a halt when it struck a street light and crashed into a dry-cleaning business at 3528 Fifth Avenue.

Weyandt was charged with possession with intent to deliver, criminal conspiracy and possession of a controlled substance when a search revealed more than 100 grams of methamphetamine on her person.

When it came time to dispose of Weyandt’s charges, she entered a no-contest plea but the judge deferred the imposition of sentence pending the preparation of a presentence report.

At the sentencing hearing on Nov. 3, 2022, the prosecution requested prison time within the standard range of the state’s guidelines, which in Weyandt’s case was a minimum of

72 to 90 months on the charge of possession with intent to deliver.

Her mitigated range was 60 months.

Weyandt faced such a lengthy period in prison because she had a high prior record score, which included a criminal history of 33 prior convictions and 14 probation violations, plus the substantial amount of methamphetamine in her possession when arrested, according to the Superior Court opinion.

The prosecution argued there were no mitigating circumstances in Weyandt’s case.

According to the appeals court Doyle disagreed.

She pointed out that — according to the presentence report — Weyandt had a “difficult and unfortunate personal history,” which included a traumatic upbringing.

Several of Weyandt’s children were also put up for adoption due to drug abuse, it was explained.

The Blair judge concluded Weyandt had no “consistent history as a drug dealer, despite prior convictions of possession with intent to deliver.”

She had no convictions for violence or other serious offenses, Doyle confirmed.

The judge also stated that despite the large amount of meth found on her person the night of the car crash, “there was no direct evidence she sold drugs to others.”

The Superior Court panel summarized Doyle’s position by noting, “The court concluded that Weyandt was in need of an enforced period of treatment for substance abuse and it would be inappropriate to impose total confinement without a treatment program in place.”

Weyandt was placed on probation for seven years.

The prosecution appealed to the Superior Court, arguing the judge had abused her discretion by sentencing Weyandt to probation.

The appeals court outlined its role, noting, “This Court must vacate and remand for resentencing if the trial court sentences outside of the guidelines and the sentence is unreasonable.”

It further explained, a trial court (Doyle) in reviewing a sentence that deviates significantly even from the mitigated range must show the case is “compellingly different” from a typical case of the same nature.”

The prosecution, the Superior Court pointed out, argued that Doyle erred by adopting “the unsupported assertion by defense counsel (Kristen L. Anastasi) regarding Weyandt’s supposed lack of culpability.”

The prosecution also contended Doyle failed to give appropriate consideration of the guidelines and the weight of methamphetamine found on her, stated the Superior Court panel.

The appeals court, after reviewing the arguments on both sides, then concluded, “Under the circumstances of this case, the (Blair) court’s failure to consider the gravity of the offense, as argued by the commonwealth, calls into question the reasonableness of the court’s deviation from the guidelines.”

Although Weyandt was placed on probation by Doyle, state court records show she is currently incarcerated in the Department of Corrections’ Quehanna Boot Camp on a sentence imposed by Blair County Judge Jackie Bernard for tampering with evidence and retail theft.

Otto was recently sentenced to a term of two to four years behind bars on a charge of fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement.