A Johnstown man will serve time in jail for charges connected with the death of an IUP student in 2017.
Indiana County President Judge Thomas Bianco ordered 25-year-old Brady DiStefano to serve nine months to a day less than two years in Indiana County Jail for a charge of involuntary manslaughter for his part in the death of Caleb Zweig of Rockville, Maryland, on February 3, 2017. Following his release, he will serve two years of probation. The sentence was handed down after a morning of impact statements given by family and friends of both Distefano and Zweig. The two were involved in a fight that night and Zweig succumbed to his injuries a few hours later at the Indiana Regional Medical Center.
DiStefano was originally charged with criminal homicide and aggravated assault, but then-President Judge William Martin dismissed the case because of a lack of evidence. An appeal was made to State Superior Court, and the court ruled there was enough evidence for charges of aggravated assault. Martin later ruled the jury could not hear evidence that DiStefano’s role in the fight lead to Zweig’s death and the jury would not be allowed to hear testimony from the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy. Those rulings were also overturned in State Superior Court. After a jury had been selected, the “no contest” plea to involuntary manslaughter was entered.
Indiana County District Attorney Bob Manzi said that he wished he had the case from the start.
A request for work release from Distefano’s attorney Thomas Dickey was denied as was a request to have Distefano report to jail on Monday, with Judge Bianco saying, “this has to end.”
