SUNBURY – PennLive is reporting… A Northumberland County man who wounded a state trooper during a foot pursuit has withdrawn no-contest pleas to charges in two cases. 20-year-old Hunter Douglass Shaheen of Watsontown was scheduled to be sentenced Monday in county court but instead withdrew his pleas.
He pleaded in May to charges of assault on a law enforcement officer (firearm discharged), possessing a firearm without a license and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
The prosecution’s decision to seek a weapon enhancement was the reason for the withdrawal, defense attorney George E. Lepley Jr. explained. He was unaware it was being sought until he recently received the presentence report, he said. He should have received notice before the pleas were entered, he contended.
With the enhancement Shaheen was facing a 20- to 40-year sentence compared to one in the six- to eight-year range anticipated after plea negotiations, he said. With the withdrawal of the pleas, all charges are back in play including attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and attempted homicide.
