Weyandt

HOLLIDAYSBURG — An Altoona woman previously sentenced to seven years’ probation for drug-trafficking offenses has been resentenced to 4.5 to 10 years’ incarceration, with her concurrence.

Nicole Lynn Weyandt, 48, currently incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Muncy on other charges, accepted a sentence imposed Thursday that puts her in position to receive credit for 373 days of incarceration and to be considered for the state Drug Treatment Program after an additional 18 months of incarceration.

Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks and defense attorney Kristen Anastasi presented Judge Jackie Bernard with the negotiated sentence to answer a state Superior Court order requiring that Weyandt be resentenced.

In May 2024, the state Superior Court found fault with Weyandt’s sentence of seven years’ probation handed down Nov. 3, 2022, by then-President Judge Elizabeth Doyle.

While Doyle recognized mitigating circumstances — including Weyandt’s traumatic upbringing, difficult personal history and no history of violent crimes — the state Superior Court found that the imposed sentence failed to reflect state sentencing guidelines.

The DA’s office, in challenging the probationary sentence before the state Superior Court, claimed there were no mitigating factors to support a deviation from state sentencing guidelines. Based on Weyandt’s prior record, the mitigated range for possession with intent to deliver was set at five years’ incarceration.

Allegheny Township police arrested Weyandt on Feb. 21, 2021.

She was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Benjamin A. Otto, who attempted to flee and led police on a high speed chase on Route 764. The vehicle stopped when Otto struck a street light and crashed into a dry-cleaning business at 3528 Fifth Ave.

Weyandt, found with more than 100 grams of methamphetamine, was charged with possession with intent to deliver, criminal conspiracy and possession of a controlled substance.

Bernard, who reported reviewing an updated pre-sentencing investigation for Weyandt — who has been incarcerated — said she would impose the negotiated sentence presented by Anastasi and Weeks.

Anastasi told the judge that the proposed sentence was acceptable to Weyandt in light of her chance to be considered for the state Drug Treatment Program. The defense attorney said that wasn’t part of prior offers, prompting Weeks to explain that he had objected to that option when Weyandt’s appeal was pending.

Weyandt, who participated in the hearing by video transmission from Muncy, will also be required, as part of her sentence, to undergo mental health and drug and alcohol evaluations and follow through with recommended treatments.

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