Sutersville man sentenced for using arrow to puncture tires, threaten neighbors

A Sutersville man was sentenced to three years and nine months to 7½ years in state prison Friday for using an arrow to puncture a neighbor’s tires and threaten another resident.

Rickie L. Case, 61, was ordered to spend an additional five years on probation on charges of aggravated assault, terroristic threats, simple assault, reckless endangerment, harassment and disorderly conduct.

Case declined to say anything before he was sentenced. He was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and pay $938 in restitution.

Case was convicted in October after neighbors and state police testified against him regarding the September 2020 incident outside Junebugs bar on Third Avenue. He admitted to puncturing tires on two vehicles belonging to his neighbors with the arrow.

One of the neighbors testified that Case threatened to stab him with the arrow in a hallway of the apartment building. He was able to hold a screen door closed to prevent Case from attacking him, according to trial testimony.

Case denied threatening the neighbor with the arrow while testifying in his own defense. He said he had reached a breaking point that morning after enduring what he described as neighbors banging on his walls all night.

During a presentence investigation, Case claimed to have served in the military, though probation officers were not able to confirm it, Judge Christopher Feliciani said.

Case has served about 30 months in the Westmoreland County Prison since his arrest. His attorney Adam Gorzelsky said that a state prison probably is better equipped to deal with mental health concerns.

Both he and prosecutors declined to provide any witness testimony prior to sentencing.

“The testimony of the victims and witnesses (at trial) … speaks for itself,” Assistant District Attorney Theresa Miller-Sporrer said.

Case also was convicted in August of a harassment count for sending explicit letters to a worker at the Sutersville post office. He was sentenced to one year of probation.