First graduate of Westmoreland County's Veterans Court says he'll return as a mentor

Ryan Skuta was home about a year after his third tour of duty, a four-month stint as a freelance infantryman fighting with the Kurds against ISIS in 2016, when he was arrested in Jeannette and charged with drunk driving.

On Tuesday, Skuta, 33, of Irwin, became the first graduate of Westmoreland County’s fledgling Veterans Court program to help former service members charged with crimes to manage their way through the criminal justice system.

“The opportunity to be in Veterans Court was a Godsend to me,” Skuta said.

The initiative launched in May has 10 former service members who are participating in the six- to 12-month program that mixes treatment for addiction and mental health issues along with other counseling and supervision needed by former service members who have been charged with minor crimes.

Participants meet once a month with counselors, mentors and probation officers in court proceedings presided over by Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger, a retired U.S. Navy lieutenant.

Veterans Court sessions, while structured similarly to most other court hearings, carry a more patriotic feel as court starts with the Pledge of Allegiance. Program participants, counselors, judicial staff and others with a military background recite the Veterans Creed before hearings begin.

The program allows those who successfully complete supervision and counseling avoid potential jail sentences or earn reductions in probation terms and waivers of having to pay a portion of court costs and fines. Skuta earned a waiver of his remaining $1,900 in court fees owed as a result of his guilty plea in May and six-month probation sentence.

“It’s an intensive supervision,” said Pat Michaels, an adult probation officer and coordinator for the program. “We attempt to address every need and give them a clear path and a fresh start. This program relies on the camaraderie and discipline they learned in the their military experience.”

Westmoreland County operates one of 25 Veterans Court programs in Pennsylvania and is one of four in the state launched this year.

Matt Zamosky, director of the county’s veterans affairs office, said the program is a good start to help struggling former service members re-adjust to civilian life.

“It’s an opportunity for veterans and one of the best chances for them to focus on something positive rather than a mistake someone makes,” Zamosky said.

For Skuta, he said the program has allowed him to return to a more normal life to help him care for his 1-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son. Skuta said he struggled during his initial return home after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2007 and in Afghanistan in 2009 and continued to have adjustment issues after he came back after his mercenary job in 2016.

“I started drinking a lot, self-medicating,” Skuta said.

He said his experience with the Veterans Court will have a lasting impact on his life and the lives of others.

“I will come back and be a mentor in the program. I gives you structure like I had in the Marine Corps. I could relate to their experiences and I think I can benefit being with the other veterans,” Skuta said.