President Judge Wade A. Kagarise, who concluded a trial-by-court Thursday for Al Mu Min Diaz, 46, issued verdicts Friday that included five acquittals in connection with the standoff.

Diaz, who remains incarcerated in the Blair County Prison, is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 28. In preparation, Kagarise directed the county’s parole and probation office to compile a pre-sentence investigation. The judge also asked for state sentencing guidelines to be submitted by Oct. 2.

On Thursday, during what was the fifth session of the trial-by-court which started in January, Diaz opted against testifying on his own behalf.

But the defendant, who has been representing himself in court with a public defender as standby counsel, presented arguments against all charges.

A hostage negotiation specialist with the Altoona Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division was able to convince Al Mu Min Yusef Diaz to give himself up peacefully after a standoff with police on April 18, 2024. Mirror photo by Rachel Foor

As part of his defense, he accused Altoona police of coming up with the wrong response to his ex-wife’s plea for help.

“The Altoona police did not do their due diligence,” Diaz said. “This was supposed to be a welfare check on someone having a mental health crisis.”

Altoona police, after hearing the ex-wife recount details of an April 17, 2024, domestic dispute with Diaz when he pointed a gun at her and said “die bitch,” organized an effort to approach Diaz, who was inside the house in which the ex-wife said they both resided.

Police blocked off access to his neighborhood and used a heavily armored vehicle to get closer to the house.

Police also relied on a public address system to order occupants of the house to exit but Diaz explained in court that he didn’t exit because he hadn’t done anything.

Police later learned that Diaz, while refusing to come out, was doing a livestream video, asking to be left alone. That continued for a portion of the four-hour standoff which ended peacefully after Lt. Ashley Day persuaded Diaz to exit the residence.

Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Thomas, who described the evidence offered during the trial-by-court as sufficient to sustain each of the filed charges, objected to Diaz’s accusations, prompting Kagarise to say that the sufficiency would be addressed through the verdicts.

Thomas also refuted Diaz’s claim that he can lawfully possess a firearm based on the Second Amendment. The prosecutor’s case included witness testimony and evidence of Diaz’s prior felony conviction in Centre County for possession with intent to deliver, leading to a sentence of 2.5 to five years’ incarceration.

“So he doesn’t have the lawful right to possess a firearm,” Thomas told Kagarise.

Diaz later countered that his sentencing order didn’t say that.

Diaz also argued that he was unaware of any firearms in the house where his ex-wife resided and he was “just a visitor” on the day that Altoona police arrested him.

But the ex-wife had advised police that there were guns inside the house.

Earlier proceedings included the presentation of a videotaped interview at the Altoona police station, where the ex-wife admitted that she thought Diaz was going to harm her. During the trial-by-court, she claimed to have limited memory of Diaz pointing a gun at her and saying “die bitch.”

Diaz, in court Thursday, denied any intention of harming the woman and asked Kagarise to consider his saying “die bitch” was a reflection of urban speech.

“It’s just how I talk,” he said.

Diaz also said he has lived in Altoona for 20 years.

On the April 17, 2024, domestic incident, Kagarise issued guilty verdicts on a felony charge of possession of a firearm prohibited, on misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats and simple assault and on a summary charge of harassment.

On the April 18, 2024, standoff with police, Kagarise rendered guilty verdicts on two felony charges of possession of a firearm prohibited, one felony charge of flight to avoid apprehension and a misdemeanor charge of obstructing administration of law.

The judge reached not guilty verdicts on one felony count of receiving stolen property, one felony count of possession of a firearm prohibited, one felony count of possession with intent to deliver, one felony count of forgery and one misdemeanor count of use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

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