Good thing the tOSU fans made up all of the wild stories
Link
6/14
Penn State student gets prison for field assault
Teenager tackled police officer after Ohio State game
By Mike Joseph
[email protected]
<!-- begin body-content --> BELLEFONTE -- A Penn State student who assaulted a police officer after rushing the Beaver Stadium field last year was sentenced Tuesday to at least four months in prison as a judge tried to understand why a religious non-drinker with an "unblemished background" attacked a cop.
Nathan Glenn Lehman, 19, of Mechanicsburg, told Judge Bradley P. Lunsford that the Oct. 8 Ohio State football game brought him near a breaking point after he spent two sleepless nights encamped at Paternoville outside the stadium in the aftermath of a "sour" breakup with his girlfriend.
"I probably came as close to snapping as I ever did ... I was definitely at a raw emotional state," Lehman testified before his sentencing. "After every big play, I just exploded with enthusiasm."
Lehman also said he assaulted university police officer Cyprien Brien to "take one for the team," apparently referring to the group of students, including some Reformed University Fellowship colleagues, he was seated with around the eighth row of the student section.
The criminal complaint filed the day after the game quoted Lehman as looking at Brien from the stands, saying "I'm coming for you," and then rushing onto the field to tackle Brien. Lehman also told police he heard others cheering him on in the midst of a mob mentality, the complaint says.
Lunsford told Lehman, a sophomore engineering student last year, that the young man had two possible decisions as perhaps 2,000 fans charged onto the field after Penn State's dramatic 17-10 victory. He chose the wrong one, Lunsford said.
"You could have drawn on a lifetime of good decision-making ... but you chose to ignore that," Lunsford said. "You had an opportunity to inspire all the other people around you ... You could have said to them: 'This isn't right.' "
"When you took one for the team, you attacked a police officer," Lunsford added. "But you did more than attack a police officer. You attacked a community, and the community will not stand for that."
Lunsford ordered Lehman to begin a sentence of four to 23 and a half months at the Centre County Correctional Facility on June 26. He'll be eligible for work release right away. Lehman was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and costs, and to undergo evaluation and treatment. Lehman pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on May 9.
Brien testified that it was fortunate that no one else joined Lehman in attacking police officers and said he didn't want Lehman to get off with just a "slap on the wrist." Brien said afterward he was satisfied with the sentence.
"We have to send a message out that this community does not tolerate attacks on police officers," he said.
The attack on Brien -- a punch to the right side of the officer's face and a sustained headlock that left him with bruised neck ligaments -- was the most serious crime that occurred after the Saturday night Ohio State game, the crucial point in the Nittany Lions 11-1 season.
Another Penn State student, Brandon Hackman, pleaded guilty to summary offense citations for harassment and disorderly conduct for grabbing an officer from behind in a bear hug. Hackman paid a $318.50 fine for each of the two citations. Penn State police also identified some of the people who rushed the field and turned their names over to the university's Office of Judicial Affairs.
Lehman, who was praised as an upstanding and hard-working member of the New Covenant Fellowship of Mechanicsburg, told Lunsford that things started to go wrong for him on the Ohio State weekend when he spent two nights at Paternoville, the student-populated tent camp outside the Beaver Stadium gate.
"I really thought there was going to be more sleeping," he said.
Link
6/14
Penn State student gets prison for field assault
Teenager tackled police officer after Ohio State game
By Mike Joseph
[email protected]
<!-- begin body-content --> BELLEFONTE -- A Penn State student who assaulted a police officer after rushing the Beaver Stadium field last year was sentenced Tuesday to at least four months in prison as a judge tried to understand why a religious non-drinker with an "unblemished background" attacked a cop.
Nathan Glenn Lehman, 19, of Mechanicsburg, told Judge Bradley P. Lunsford that the Oct. 8 Ohio State football game brought him near a breaking point after he spent two sleepless nights encamped at Paternoville outside the stadium in the aftermath of a "sour" breakup with his girlfriend.
"I probably came as close to snapping as I ever did ... I was definitely at a raw emotional state," Lehman testified before his sentencing. "After every big play, I just exploded with enthusiasm."
Lehman also said he assaulted university police officer Cyprien Brien to "take one for the team," apparently referring to the group of students, including some Reformed University Fellowship colleagues, he was seated with around the eighth row of the student section.
The criminal complaint filed the day after the game quoted Lehman as looking at Brien from the stands, saying "I'm coming for you," and then rushing onto the field to tackle Brien. Lehman also told police he heard others cheering him on in the midst of a mob mentality, the complaint says.
Lunsford told Lehman, a sophomore engineering student last year, that the young man had two possible decisions as perhaps 2,000 fans charged onto the field after Penn State's dramatic 17-10 victory. He chose the wrong one, Lunsford said.
"You could have drawn on a lifetime of good decision-making ... but you chose to ignore that," Lunsford said. "You had an opportunity to inspire all the other people around you ... You could have said to them: 'This isn't right.' "
"When you took one for the team, you attacked a police officer," Lunsford added. "But you did more than attack a police officer. You attacked a community, and the community will not stand for that."
Lunsford ordered Lehman to begin a sentence of four to 23 and a half months at the Centre County Correctional Facility on June 26. He'll be eligible for work release right away. Lehman was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and costs, and to undergo evaluation and treatment. Lehman pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on May 9.
Brien testified that it was fortunate that no one else joined Lehman in attacking police officers and said he didn't want Lehman to get off with just a "slap on the wrist." Brien said afterward he was satisfied with the sentence.
"We have to send a message out that this community does not tolerate attacks on police officers," he said.
The attack on Brien -- a punch to the right side of the officer's face and a sustained headlock that left him with bruised neck ligaments -- was the most serious crime that occurred after the Saturday night Ohio State game, the crucial point in the Nittany Lions 11-1 season.
Another Penn State student, Brandon Hackman, pleaded guilty to summary offense citations for harassment and disorderly conduct for grabbing an officer from behind in a bear hug. Hackman paid a $318.50 fine for each of the two citations. Penn State police also identified some of the people who rushed the field and turned their names over to the university's Office of Judicial Affairs.
Lehman, who was praised as an upstanding and hard-working member of the New Covenant Fellowship of Mechanicsburg, told Lunsford that things started to go wrong for him on the Ohio State weekend when he spent two nights at Paternoville, the student-populated tent camp outside the Beaver Stadium gate.
"I really thought there was going to be more sleeping," he said.