George Klipola, who state police said tried to run over people with his pickup truck in June 2011 at a bush party in Blythe Township, will have to return to Schuylkill County Court at least once, as a judge rejected on Wednesday his proposed guilty plea to two charges stemming from the incident.
"I don't know what's going on here," Judge John E. Domalakes said in turning down the plea agreement that would have sent Klipola, 39, of Middleport, to a state correctional institution for one to two years. "I'm not certain what the agreement is."
Under the terms of the agreement between Klipola and prosecutors, the defendant would have pleaded guilty to two counts of recklessly endangering another person, with two counts of aggravated assault and one each of simple assault and driving under suspension being withdrawn.
However, judges are not bound by plea agreements between prosecutors and defendants, and Domalakes said a dispute over the amount of restitution owed by Klipola and a last-minute victim impact statement made him reject the agreement.
Cody Carpency submitted that statement, which Domalakes received earlier on Wednesday, and Sheila Carpency, Cody's mother, told Domalakes that her son is suffering.
"He's going through counseling," she said. "He's having panic attacks."
Although Sheila Carpency said her son, who did not attend Wednesday's hearing, had supported the agreement, Domalakes instructed Assistant District Attorney Robert E. Matta to make sure that was still the case.
Domalakes also asked Matta to make sure of the amount of restitution Klipola would owe.
Under the original terms of the agreement, Klipola was to have paid more than $130,000 restitution to the victims. However, Domalakes said that amount had been changed to approximately $3,500.
"The victims have been reimbursed through their insurance companies," Matta said in explaining the difference.
However, Domalakes said he wanted to know about reimbursement of the insurance companies before he accepted the agreement.
Klipola left the courtroom without making any comment, while his lawyer, James G. Conville, Schuylkill Haven, said he would not have a problem with his client being sentenced at a future date. Neither Klipola nor Conville indicated that the defendant would withdraw his plea.
Since Domalakes did not accept the agreement, all six charges remain against Klipola. If there is no agreement, Klipola could be tried at the criminal court term that runs from Aug. 27 through Sept. 5.
State police at Frackville alleged that Klipola struck Cody Carpency, then 18, of New Philadelphia, Gavin Heim, then 17, of Valley View, and Joseph Rolanaitis, then 18, of Middleport, with his white Ford pickup truck in the early morning hours of June 18, 2011, at the end of a bush party near Kaska in a section of Blythe Township known as Strawberry Fields.
Cody Carpency testified at Klipola's preliminary hearing on July 28, 2011, before Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko, Port Carbon, that he suffered three pelvic fractures and a ruptured bladder that required surgery at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.
Heim testified at the same hearing he suffered three or four broken ribs, three or four torn tendons in one of his knees, a collapsed lung and internal bleeding.
Rolanaitis also testified he had a titanium plate put in his body as a result of the incident but otherwise was not seriously hurt.Defendant: George Klipola
Age: 39
Residence: Middleport
Charges: Two counts each of aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person and one each of simple assault and driving under suspension