While there were several criminal call hearings yesterday in Indiana County Court, two people were sentenced on Friday.
55-year-old Merrie Stepanek of Homer City was sentenced by Indiana County President Judge Thomas Bianco yesterday to pay fines and restitution and to serve a year of probation for a charge of retail theft that went back to March 19th of this year. Stepanek also has a record in Jefferson County, as she was in an ARD program for theft and DUI in connection with the theft of steaks and cell phones and phone chargers from the Walmart in Punxsutawney in January of 2023. She has now entered guilty pleas in that case as ARD was revoked.
Also in court yesterday, 24-year-old Gage Arrington, who has addresses in both Indiana and Punxsutawney, was sentenced in two separate cases of bad checks. In one case, he was ordered to serve a year of probation, and in the other, he was ordered to serve 18 months of probation. The sentences will run concurrently.
