Judge rejects plea deals for Monessen men, citing insufficient prison time

A judge on Monday rejected guilty pleas for two Monessen men charged separately in unrelated cases involving allegations of illegal gun possession and assaults against police officers.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani told prosecutors that both men had lengthy criminal records involving similar offenses and the proposed plea deals that included 2½-to-5 year prison terms were not sufficient.

“I don’t think they are in the best interest of justice at this point,” Feliciani said.

Aliziah Feliberty, 22, of Monessen was charged in three cases, spanning from 2019 through 2021 in which he was accused of illegal gun possession and other offenses. He was also charged with two counts of aggravated assault against police officers in one case. Police said Feliberty resisted arrest and attempted to disarm them during an altercation.

Feliberty’s criminal record included at least two other convictions as a juvenile for similar offenses in Florida, the judge said.

According to court records, Feliberty also pleaded guilty last year in Fayette County to charges of resisting arrest and fleeing from police in connection with an incident in 2020 in which he was accused of leading authorities on a high-speed chase where the pursuit topped 107 mph.

Feliberty initially fled the scene after his car was stopped and his identification cards were left in the vehicle, police said. He was ordered to serve six months on probation in that case.

Meanwhile, Terrance Stepoli, 29, of Monessen was also on probation when he was accused of drug and firearms offenses for an incident last year in Rostraver.

According to court records, Stepoli fled from police who responded to a call of a fight at Sweeney’s Steakhouse. Police said Stepoli was Tasered as he climbed a chain link fence. Authorities said a more than $7,200 in cash, a gun, heroin, cocaine, marijuana and pills were found in Stepoli’s vehicle.

Authorities said Stepoli was not allowed to possess a firearm because of a previous felony conviction.

Stepoli, a former high school sports standout, was one of five people arrested in December 2012 on attempted homicide charges. They were accused of chasing and shooting at a man they believed implicated them in the homicide of another man. Stepoli later pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy and was initially sentenced to serve up to four years in prison.

Following Feliciani’s decision on Monday to reject the plea deals for both men, prosecutors lengthened the proposed sentences.

Assistant District Attorney Allen Powanda said new plea deals called for the men to receive 5- to 10-year prison sentences.

Defense attorney Brian Aston, the lawyer for both Stepoli and Feliberty, said his clients did not immediate accept the deals and their trials, scheduled for this week, will be postponed until at least August. Both men remain jailed.