Metro

An inmate who is serving prison time for biting a corrections officer while being held at the State Correctional Institution in Houtzdale will have to wait for his appeal to be heard, according to an order issued Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

A Clearfield County jury last year found Devon Reakwon Stevenson, 43, guilty of aggravated assault, aggravated assault by a prisoner, aggravated harassment by a prisoner, simple assault and a summary charge of harassment, stemming from an incident that occurred in September 2023 when he was incarcerated at Houtzdale.

According to the order by Superior Court Judges Anne E. Lazarus, Mary Jane Bowes and Timika Lane, the incident that led to charges against Stevenson began when a corrections officer ordered inmates in the dayroom of the prison to return to their cells.

The inmates left the area, but the officer who gave the order noticed that Stevenson was “moseying around … looking at paper and walking back and forth.”

When the officer asked Stevenson to return to his cell, he became “argumentative, aggressive and frustrated,” the Superior Court panel related.

As the argument became heated, Stevenson approached the officer who was sitting at a desk that was behind bars and was in a restricted area of the prison.

Stevenson grabbed the bars and made verbal threats to the officer.

The officer radioed for assistance and several additional officers responded.

A sergeant who came to the scene attempted to talk to Stevenson and warned him she would use pepper spray to subdue him.

According to the description of what happened by the panel, Stevenson continued to refuse orders to go back to his cell and he responded to the pepper spray threat by saying, “Go ahead and see what happens.”

As Stevenson “ran towards the sergeant,” several other officers intervened and a struggle commenced.

During the ongoing fray, Stevenson bit the arm of an officer to the point that it drew blood and required treatment by an emergency room physician.

Clearfield County Judge Fredric Ammerman on March 10, 2025, sentenced Stevenson to a prison term of three to six years.

He was already serving time for a burglary that occurred in Philadelphia.

Stevenson asked for reconsideration of his sentence, which was rejected by the trial judge.

Acting as his own attorney, he appealed his conviction and sentence.

Meanwhile, Stevenson’s court-appointed attorney asked court permission to withdraw from the case.

The appeal Stevenson filed raised four issues, all involving charges that his attorney was ineffective.

He contends his attorney failed:

— To investigate potential defense witnesses;

— To call potential defense witnesses to testify during the trial;

— To cross-exam witnesses about other inmates who were present that day;

— To thoroughly cross-examine prospective jurors concerning possible racial issues, or whether they were “pro-law enforcement, or possessed racial biases.”

In its review of Stevenson’s appeal, the panel ruled that his lawyer may withdraw from further representation.

The panel then explained that all of Stevenson’s issues are about the ineffectiveness of his lawyer, and such issues are not normally heard during a defendant’s initial appeal.

“Accordingly, we cannot consider any of the four in effectiveness claims that Stevenson raises on direct appeal,” the panel explained.

Those issues are normally reserved for a post-conviction appeal, the panel explained.

With that explanation, the appeals court ruled there are no further issues for its review at this time, and therefore dismissed Stevenson’s appeal.

Stevenson can still seek review by the Supreme Court concerning the Superior Court’s refusal to consider his issues during the direct appeal stage of the case, or he can, at this point, file a post-conviction appeal concerning the alleged ineffectiveness of his lawyer.

He has a year to refile his appeal under the Post-Conviction Relief Act.

Stevenson is presently incarcerated at SCI Somerset.