An opinion issued last week by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia has opened the door for a former Altoona man, Charles Bellon, to once again challenge his conviction for drug-related offenses that netted him a minimum of 31 years in a state correctional institution.

Bellon came to Altoona from Philadelphia as a 17-year-old, and, according to the charges against him, between Jan. 1, 1997, and March 2002, he became the leader of an organization that distributed cocaine in Blair and surrounding counties.

He is now 45 years old and is an inmate in the State Correctional Institution in Somerset County where he is about two thirds of the way through a 31- to 46-year prison sentence.

He has filed multiple appeals over the years, challenging the assumption that he was the leader of the organization and, more recently, a court-ordered resentencing that altered his original maximum sentence imposed by now-retired Blair County Judge Hiram A. Carpenter from 62 years to 46 years behind bars.

However, Bellon, who is now representing himself in his eternal battle with the court system, says he is “in desperate need of help.”

“Because of my pro se status (serving as his own lawyer) I do not have anybody speaking for me, or helping me. I’m being bullied and ignored. At this point I do not know what to do,” he wrote.

He stated he has consulted with an assistant attorney with the Defender Association of Philadelphia, who noted in a letter that Bellon’s court proceedings have been unfair, but at this point refused to file a brief supporting his requests for a new sentencing hearing and an early release from prison.

He has submitted an application with another organization in his quest to find help as he moves forward with yet another appeal.

Bellon maintains he is in jail illegally at this point.

“Twenty years of my life … I paid my price,” he stated in a recent communication.

A 3rd Circuit opinion last week, however, has opened the door for Bellon to be able to tell his side of the story to a federal judge presiding in the District Court in Johnstown.

In 2022, Bellon filed a petition with the Johns­town court presenting the facts of his case from the day he was charged with 23 drug-related offenses (on May 9, 2002) by a statewide grand jury to the present ongoing proceedings on his petitions filed before in the federal court.

Judges Patty Shwartz, Paul Matey and Cindy K. Chung last week dismissed appeals to rulings in the District Court that challenged his convictions in 2006 and an appeal Bellon had filed from a petition he submitted in 2015.

By taking this action, the appeals court indicated the Johnstown court can now move ahead with Bellon’s 2022 petition that has been stayed, or put on hold, pending the results of the 3rd Circuit review of his present appeals.

His latest petition presents 19 issues to be addressed that include charges as to the effectiveness of his attorneys, the difference of opinion with the court as to his resentencing which took place in 2020, and failure by the prosecution to disclose information about a key witness against (known as a Brady violation) that could have tested the credibility of the witness.

One of the most contentious points surrounding the Bellon prosecution occurred in 2020.

Magistrate Judge Keith A. Pesto in Johnstown, reviewing the case, noted that Bellon received maximum sentences of 14 years on each of 10 counts of possession with intent to deliver illegal drugs.

Pesto ruled that the statutory maximum for this type of charge was only 10 years and ordered Blair County to resentence Bellon to conform to the law or release him from prison.

Bellon interpreted this to mean this original sentence was vacated and that he would receive a new sentencing hearing.

The prosecution argued that all that needed to be done was correct the sentence and that Bellon was not entitled to a new hearing.

The sentencing judge issued a new order reducing the maximums on the PWID charges but maintained initial minimum sentences, thus resulting in the same 31-year minimum sentence Bellon is presently serving.

Bellon now states that District Judge Kim R. Gibson in dismissing his argument that his initial sentence was vacated, noted “Whether the state court’s failure to afford Bellon a resentencing hearing violated his constitutional rights and conflicted with clearly established federal law remains to be litigated at the habeas corpus petition Bellon filed challenging his January 2020 judgment of sentence.”

This means Bellon, when his 2022 petition comes up for hearing, will be able to once again challenge his most recent sentence.

Bellon’s petition mentions that after being arrested he was offered plea agreements of 7 to 14 years and 7.5 to 15 years.

He stated in his petition his lawyer never told him about the initial offer of a 7- to 14-year sentence, and essentially advised against accepting the 7.5- to 15-year plea offer.