HOLLIDAYSBURG -- An Altoona man convicted of prohibited possession of a firearm, simple assault and harassment at the end of a trial-by-judge has been sentenced to 6 to 12 years' incarceration.
President Judge Wade A. Kagarise, who presided over the trial with testimony that concluded in February, handed down the sentence May 1 to Kevin Maurice Wright Jr., 39, who had denied owning a pair of guns.
Altoona police learned about the guns from Wright's girlfriend on June 28, 2023, two days after a domestic incident in which the woman accused Wright of hitting her with a closed fist, threatening to kill her and stopping her as she attempted to flee.
Police, who secured a search warrant for a residence on the 1100 block of Third Avenue, collected two guns from inside a safe -- a black AR-rifle with no serial number and a black .40 caliber handgun -- that the woman opened with a key. The woman told police that the guns weren't hers, that they belonged to Wright and that she didn't want them in her residence. The woman also told police she had the key to the safe because Wright left it behind when he left the residence two days earlier after striking and threatening her.
Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Mays asked Kagarise to hand down a sentence that would individually address the illegal firearm possessions and the assault.
"He assaulted his paramour, drove her to tears ... struck her in the face and said he would kill her," Mays reminded the judge.
Defense attorney Tyler Rowles asked Kagarise to consider imposing concurrent sentences in light of Wright's employment history and post-incarceration plans.
While the judge handed down five- to 10-year sentences for each of the two firearm convictions, he ordered those sentences to be served concurrently and for an additional one to two years to be served on the simple assault conviction.
In addition, Kagarise added two years' probation to follow the total sentence of six to 12 years, for obstruction of law which Wright also addressed during his May 1 sentencing. The basis for that charge, filed in October 2024, developed when Wright -- then incarcerated at the Blair County Prison -- refused to comply with a court order requiring him to provide a buccal swab sought for DNA testing in connection with his firearm case.
Online records also show that in Lycoming County, Wright has pending felony charges of aggravated assault and child endangerment, with a pre-trial motion scheduled for a hearing in June.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.