Man Who Made Threats Against Local Officials Tells Judge: ‘It’s Going to Happen All Over Again’

| November 14, 2019

CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – A 28-year-old man will spend up to three years in state prison for making threats against several local authorities.

Joseph David Supik Jr., of New Bethlehem, was sentenced in the Clarion County Court of Common Pleas on Wednesday afternoon, appearing via video-link from Somerset County Jail.

Senior Judge H. William White sentenced Supik to a total of 18 months to three years in state prison on three counts of first-degree misdemeanor terroristic threats.

Supik was ordered to six to 12 months confinement on each of the three counts, with the sentences to run consecutively.

He was also ordered to pay a fine of $100 on each of the three counts.

Before the sentence was handed down, Judge White stated that he prefers to have a sentence that respects the fact that there were three victims, and asked for the Commonwealth’s opinion on the matter. District Attorney Mark Aaron agreed.

“When you get to the level of threats Mr. Supik engaged in…I think the court needs to recognize the need for appropriate punishment for this,” Aaron said.

“It goes beyond the pale and beyond the reasonable,” Judge White added, noting that Supik made threats not only against public officials, but also against their family members.

Aaron also noted that while the issue of Supik’s mental health obviously came into play in the case, his persistence and inability to learn from previous incidents remained a concern and went on to recommend a sentence of no less than two to four years in state prison.

Supik’s defense attorney asked for the judge’s understanding and requested a long county sentence, rather than a state prison sentence.

“Mr. Supik does have other cases in other counties,” he noted. “He has done better in Somerset County (Jail) than in state prison.”

Supik himself also pleaded with the judge.

“I’m just trying to do better, and if you send me back to prison, that won’t help,” he said.

“Please don’t send me back to state prison. I want to get a job. I’m asking for a chance here,” he continued.

Supik also noted that while he is able to get help with his mental health issues in Somerset County Jail, he felt he was unable to get adequate help in either Clarion County Jail or in the state correctional facility.

However, the pleas for leniency and a county sentence didn’t sway the judge.

“When threats are to the point where they invoke concern for family or loved ones, it goes beyond the rational or the permissible. It’s intolerable,” White stated.

Following the sentencing order, Supik asked for clarification that he was, indeed, being sent back to state prison.

“It’s going to happen all over again, Judge. I’m going to end up doing the same stupid s*** all over again,” Supik said.

“I’m going to be driven to suicide in state prison.”

Supik currently remains lodged in Somerset County Jail.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on one count of third-degree misdemeanor of harassment in the Forest County Court of Common Pleas at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 15.

He also faces sentencing on two additional counts of first-degree misdemeanor terroristic threats in Somerset County Court of Common Pleas at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, November 18.

Supik was also held for court on Tuesday, September 3, in Jefferson County, on one count of first-degree misdemeanor terroristic threats and two counts of third-degree misdemeanor of harassment. That case is continuing to make its way through the court system.

Court documents indicate Supik has an extensive criminal history dating back to 2009, with convictions ranging from harassment to theft.

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