ARD hearing in inmate assault delayed
A Thursday hearing for a former corrections officer accused of assaulting an inmate in 2009 was delayed in Fayette County Court.
Matthew Keller, 28, of Belle Vernon was scheduled for admission to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program, which is generally for first-time, non-violent offenders.
Keller was charged with simple assault for punching Trevor Ringgold, 23, then an inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Fayette in Luzerne Township, on July 28, 2009. The ARD proceeding was delayed when attorney Charity Grimm Krupa, who represents Ringgold in a civil suit, objected to Keller’s admission.
In July, Krupa sued Keller, prison Superintendent Brian Coleman and nine John or Jane Does. The suit alleged that Keller and several others assaulted Ringgold after accusing him of skipping ahead in a food line at the lockup.
For more information, read Friday’s HeraldStandard.com.