HOLLIDAYSBURG — Two Blair County men took plea deals following a morning of testimony at their joint criminal jury trial on Monday, where a case was being built against them for sending a man in the Blair County Prison to the UPMC Altoona intensive care unit.

Roy C. Lego, 61, and Paul William Carnell III, 23, faced identical single felony charges of criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, aggravated assault, robbery and assault by a prisoner on another, as well as single misdemeanor counts of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Lego and Carnell each pleaded guilty to count one, which was amended from felony aggravated assault to felony attempted homicide.

As Carnell was already serving a sentence of 7-20 years after pleading guilty to a single felony count of possession of firearms prohibited in October 2024, he also pleaded guilty to the single felony count of robbery in Monday’s case.

Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Mays told Judge Jackie Atherton Bernard that he had spoken with the victim and his wife, who were present in the courtroom, about everything that would go into the trial and that they were okay with moving forward with a plea.

The couple declined to make victim impact statements.

The only requests Mays made were for Lego and Carnell to comply with any mental health evaluations or other assessments deemed necessary and for the victim to be compensated for the glasses broken during the assault, which were worth about $500.

Prior to being sentenced, Bernard asked Lego why he made this decision, to which Lego said he went over the possible consequences of eyewitness testimony with his defense attorney Robert Donaldson, “which was a big factor.”

Bernard then questioned Carnell on why he dropped out of high school at such a young age.

“I had a lot of bad influences,” Carnell said.

Lego was fined $250, was sentenced to 8-18 years in a state correctional facility and received credit for time served since Oct. 1, 2024. He will have one year of supervision upon his release.

Carnell was fined $500 and sentenced to 15-30 years, to run concurrently with his sentence of 7-20 years, and will also have one year of supervision upon his release.

Lego and Carnell must undergo cognitive behavioral therapy and anger management, Bernard said, also ordering Carnell to obtain a GED.

All other charges against the pair were dismissed.

The case stems from the morning of Aug. 9, 2024, when the victim was hospitalized after being assaulted by Lego and Carnell inside the Blair County Prison. The victim was reported to have been intubated and being treated for broken facial bones.

Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks told WTAJ at the time that the victim had been arrested on a cost and fines warrant, then taken to Central Booking before being moved into the jail.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.