A Clearfield County man sentenced to a prison term of seven to 20 years for shooting his wife has lost his attempt to have his guilty plea nullified because of a clerical error in his record that mischaracterized his crime.

Willard Nimrod Fyock, 72, is incarcerated in the State Correctional Institution Houtzdale for the shooting that occurred in his Lawrence Township, Clearfield County, home during an Oct. 21, 2021, domestic dispute.

Although police charged him with multiple crimes that included criminal attempt – criminal homicide, three counts of aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, Fyock entered a guilty plea on Sept. 15, 2022, to just the charge of criminal attempt – criminal homicide. However, the record that accompanied him to the state prison stated that he had been sentenced on a charge of homicide.

His guilty plea came after negotiations between his Blair County attorney and the District Attorney of Clearfield County.

Clearfield County Judge Paul E. Cherry imposed the sentence after conducting a colloquy with Fyock during the sentencing hearing.

What nobody seemed to notice was that his plea was to Section 2501 of the Pennsylvania Criminal Code, which defines the crime of criminal homicide.

The proper section of the criminal attempted homicide was 901.

According to an opinion issued last Thursday by the Pennsylvania Superior Court, the staff in the office of the Clearfield County Clerk corrected the mistake in the record when it was brought to their attention.

The explanation was that the section number for the offense came from the sentencing order and when it was entered into the computer system someone forgot to check a box that indicated the offense was for criminal homicide – criminal attempt, not for criminal homicide.

The County Probation Office prepared an updated commitment form which was sent to the correctional institution.

The mistake, however, upset Fyock, who filed a post-conviction appeal contending his attorney was ineffective and that he did not enter his plea knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily — as required by law.

He argued there was no factual basis for his plea to homicide which was the crime stated on the sentencing form.

He also claimed in his appeal that his rights under the Constitution were violated “based upon the cumulative impact of the above errors.”

Cherry rejected Fyock’s appeal, stating, “While (the court) appreciates the confusion this error has caused the appellant, it does not change the fact that appellant (Fyock) was sentenced to a period of incarceration for criminal attempt – criminal homicide, the same charge to which he agreed to plead guilty.”

The court, prior to sentencing, also determined that Fyock’s counsel had adequately explained the plea agreement to Fyock.

The sentencing judge ruled the clerical error had no effect on his actual plea and sentence.

A panel of the Superior Court that included Judges Mary P. Murray and Timika Lane stated in its 13-page opinion that it agreed with the Clearfield County judge’s ruling “that these errors ultimately had no effect on (Fyock’s) plea or sentence.”

The appeals panel rejected his claim that his constitutional rights had been violated, noting his trial attorney was not found “ineffective” in his representation.

Fyock was arrested for shooting his wife of 20 years after he came home drunk and the victim indicated she was leaving him.

He is alleged to have pulled a gun, shooting her three times. Her injuries resulted in two surgeries and lasting health problems, according to information provided to the judge during Fyock’s sentencing hearing.