A federal lawsuit brought on behalf of a Blair County corrections officer who died in the line of duty while serving in Blair County Central Court has been transferred to another judge while the presiding judge recovers from an illness.

Judge Kim R. Gibson, a former Somerset County judge appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush in 2003, has been unable to preside over cases in the U.S. District Court in Johnstown for several months while being treated for an unspecified illness.

Gibson, 76, recently has been serving the District Court with senior judge status.

A spokesperson for the District Court expects Gibson will eventually resume his duties.

However, over the past couple of months, his cases have been transferred to other judges, and on Tuesday, the chief judge for western Pennsylvania, Mark R. Hornak, ordered that the civil lawsuit involving the shooting death of Rhonda Russell be transferred to Magistrate Judge Maureen P. Kelly, who presides in Pittsburgh.

Kelly’s assignment is to at least complete pretrial matters involved in the Russell case.

The civil lawsuit stems from an incident that occurred Nov. 17, 2021, after Russell, 47, who for 16 years served as a corrections officer in Blair County, and another corrections officer transported eight inmates from the Blair County Prison to Central Court in Altoona for their preliminary hearings.

The inmates were guarded by the corrections officers and Sheriff’s deputies throughout the day, but at one point, the deputies left to return some of the inmates to the prison while Russell’s colleague from the prison was providing security in a nearby courtroom.

The lawsuit stated that Russell was alone with the remaining inmates and that one of them, Christopher Aikens, was desperate to escape.

Aikens, it is contended, had earlier that week attempted to dig his way through the prison wall and had expressed concern that his lengthy prison record would, if convicted, result in a very long time behind bars.

Russell uncuffed one of Aikens’ hands so he could go to the restroom, and on his way back to his cell, Aikens, according to the lawsuit, grabbed the officer’s gun and held Russell hostage.

Altoona Police Sgt. George E. Bistline came to her aid and eventually pulled his weapon.

He fired one shot that struck and killed Russell.

Aikens was quickly subdued and has since been sentenced to life in prison on a charge of second-degree murder.

Bistline died shortly after the shooting.

In 2022, Russell’s estate filed a civil lawsuit naming as defendants several prison officials who failed to inform Russell of Aikens’ desperate attempts to escape from prison, two employees of the Sheriff’s Department, who left Russell alone with the inmates, Bistline’s estate and the Altoona Police Department.

Gibson, who was assigned to the case, permitted the Russell family to file an amended complaint in May of last year.

Each of the defendants (Blair County on behalf of the prison employees, the Sheriff and the Bistline estate) last June filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit.

The Russell estate responded to each party.

In August, Gibson issued an order staying further action until the motions to dismiss are resolved.

No further action has occurred since Gibson’s Aug. 21 order.

Hornak transferred the case to Kelly on Tuesday.

Kelly on Wednesday indicated her task was to resolve “all pretrial matters.”

While the case was transferred to her jurisdiction, she sought permission from each of the parties to proceed in her new role.

She gave the parties until Wednesday, April 9, to grant her permission to move forward with the case or to request another district judge be assigned to hear the matter.

Kelly has served as a magistrate judge for nearly 14 years, including a four-year term as chief magistrate judge.