Appeal in Brownsville assault denied by state Superior Court
The appeal of a Washington County man’s conviction in a Brownsville robbery has been denied by the state Superior Court.
The opinion posted last week by Pennsylvania Superior Court President Judge Susan Peikes Gantman upheld the conviction of Travis John Hallam, 23, of Washington.
Hallam was found guilty in May of aggravated assault and was sentence to serve two to four years in prison for pistol whipping Jacob Sherman of Brownsville.
According to court documents, Hallam along with Waylon Muniz were given a ride from Bentleyville to Centerville by Sherman around 10 p.m. Feb. 11, 2015.
While en route, Muniz changed the destination from Centerville to Brownsville and had Sherman make a couple of different stops until Sherman became frustrated and said he would never do anything like that for the men again.
Hallam, who was in the back seat of the car, put a gun to Sherman’s head and instructed him not to move, but Sherman fought back and struggled against the two men with Hallam striking Sherman in the head with a .22 Ruger revolver and Muniz choking him.
Sherman managed to get out of the car and yelled at a bystander for help, and the two men ran off and were later apprehended.
Hallam raised two issues being whether the county court erred by denying his motion for a new trial because the verdict was against the weight of the evidence and if the court erred by failing to strike an unsolicited comment made by Sherman during the trial that he was told not to call 911.
In her opinion, Gantman stated the jury’s verdict was not against the weight of the evidence as the jury credited Sherman’s testimony in their decision.
As for the issue of Sherman being told to not call 911, Gantman said it came during defense cross-examination of Sherman when they asked him why he didn’t call 911 when he returned home on the evening in question.
“Appellant (Hallam) fails to explain how he was prejudiced by Victim’s (Sherman) response,” wrote Gantman, adding that it was Hallam’s defense that elicited the response and Sherman did not attribute the statement from any identifiable source.
Muniz was found not guilty on nearly all his charges and pleaded guilty to the charge of simple assault in July 2015; he was sentenced to serve three to 23 months in prison and is currently out of custody.
Hallam remains lodged in SCI Mercer.