THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Chisley
requests
new trial
By'Zach Geiger
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Former Penn State football
player and convicted murderer
LaVon Chisley is seeking a new
trial after claiming that his origi
nal trial three years ago was
unfair for multiple reasons one
being an all-white jury.
On Sept. 28, 2007, Chisley was
convicted of first- and third
degree murder in the death of
Penn State senior Langston
Carraway Chisley was sentenced
to life in prison without parole,
according to court documents.
('arrawav was stabbed 93 times
in the chest, neck and abdomen,
according to court documents.
His body as well as bloody foot
prints matching Chisley's shoe
size and tread style were found
in Carraway.s Patton Township
apartment in June 2006, accord
ing to court documents.
(Thisley's appeal requests his
release from custody and dis
chat gc, a new trial, an expert
forensics scientist and "constitu
tionally effective counsel,"
J:.cording to court documents.
dev d i, Ifective assis
counsel a; race-related
-alling tor a new trial.
act - yr din:; u, court documents. In
aldition to aienective assistance
o. oeuns , „'i regard to Chisley's
then attorney Karen Muir,
Chislfn said the all-white jury
citlyit , his trial violated his equal
State College man given 10 to 20 years for drug trafficking
By Zach I ,..eiger
1 i:c;Lt , ri Si.r,F WRITER
; State College man involved in
a drug trafficking ring was sen
tenced Thursday to 10 to 20 years
in :Tiale prison. Centre County
DiAriet Attorney Stacy Parks
idler
Mario Rincon. 28, of 621
Elmwood was given an aggre
gate sentence of 10 to 20 years,
Parks Miller said. Rincon was
found guilty on one count of flee
ing or attempting to elude an offi
ei,rlive counts of delivery of
laVon Chisley exits the Centre County Courthouse Annex in Bellefonte
after being found guilty of first- and third-degree murder in September
2007. The former Penn State football player is now seeking a new trial.
protection rights, according to
court documents.
Chisley said Muir failed to
uphold a pre-trial motion to hire
DNA experts and failed to con
duct a pretrial investigation
which denied Chisley of his sixth
amendment rights to effective
assistance of counsel, according
to court documents.
The appeal also claims that
testimony of several witnesses
who claimed that Chisley owed
them money wrongfully estab
lished a motive to kill and
deprived him of a fair trial,
according to court documents.
The appeal also stated that the
commonwealth failed to prove
Chisley's guilt beyond reasonable
doubt, according to court docu
ments. -
cocaine, Parks Miller said.
Rincon was wanted in 2009 by
police for his involvement in a
State College drug network based
out of a local gas station.
Rincon turned himself in on
Aug. 25, 2009 after a four-day man
hunt. Rincon managed to evade
police in a high-speed car chase
that exceeded speeds of 100 mph,
according to court documents.
A confidential informant first
purchased drugs from Rincon in
June 2009 at the Nittany Mall, 2900
E. College Ave., according to court
documents.
LOCAL
Chisley said the confusion of
the first- and third-degree murder
charges amongst the jurors also
violated Chisley's sixth amend
ment rights, according to court
documents.
Chisley was not able to pay the
cost of the proceeding or legal
counsel, stating that he only had
$25 in his prison account, accord
ing to court documents. Attorney
Edward Blanarik was appointed
as counsel to represent Chisley
on Aug. 12 in the event of a new
trial, according to court docu
ments.
Carraway's father, Dr. Vernon
Carraway, a counselor in the
Multicultural Research Center,
declined comment.
To e-mail reporter: zjgsol2@psu.edu
During the two-month investi
gation, police determined that
Rincon sold Gregory Palazzari, of
2243 Bristol Ave., an ounce of
cocaine every few days, and
Palazzari sold about $50,000 worth
of cocaine per month, according to
court documents.
The former owner of Greg's
Sunoco, 605 University Dr.,
Palazzari was arrested Aug. 21,
2009 in connection with the drug
trafficking ring after the Centre
County Drug Taskforce surround
ed his gas station.
Following Palazzari's arrest,
Win or lose, police are
ready for unruly crowd
Taking cues from past
post-game incidents.
State College police
gear up for Alabama.
By Casey McDermott
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITE°
Penn State and the University
of Alabama will be duking it out
on a turf more than 900 miles
away Saturday but as far as
police are concerned, this show
down still calls for - home game"
levels of law enforcement.
Normally, State College Police
Department operations are lower
during non-football weekends in
Happy Valley, Lt. Mark Argiro
said. But this Saturday's away
game calls for the same approach
to security downtown as Beaver
Stadium games, presidential vis
its and other high-profile events.
he said.
And the outcome of the game,
Argiro said, could be a deciding
factor in how much activity police
see this weekend.
"There's a likelihood that a vic
tory by Penn State is going to
cause some problems," he said.
In his experience controlling
past riots, Argiro said the events
can often start out tame -- with
lots of high fives and We Are"
chants but the mood can turn
sour even if just a few students
become reckless.
Past riots include one that
occurred following a 1990 football
win against Notre Dame in South
Bend, Ind., and another after a
Rincon's roommate, Curtis
Vonada, attempted to flee from
police and threw away 20 ounces
of cocaine valued at $28,500 during
the pursuit, according to court
documents.
Vonada, a former Centre
County Correctional Facility
employee, was charged with pos
session with intent to deliver a
controlled substance, felony con
spiracy and misdemeanor posses
sion of a controlled substance,
according to court documents.
Police served a search warrant
for Rincon's residence Aug. 21,
FRIDAY, SEPT. 10, 2010 13
2008 football win against Ohio
State in Columbus, Ohio.
But it's not only victories that
have triggered State College riots
before. Crowds also erupted after
a loss to Temple at the 2001
NCAA Men's Basketball regional
semifinals in Atlanta, Ga.
When it comes to bracing for
potentially volatile crowds, Argiro
said police are getting better at
gauging what might spark a
potentially dangerous situation.
"We had to adjust the first time
this happened," he said. "But
we're more prepared today than
we were 10 years ago."
Argiro said some factors
always tend to be catalysts for
possible post-game riots: the
stakes are high, the kickoff is late
and by the time the clock runs
out, the alcohol has typically been
flowing for hours.
And the Alabama game, he
said. fits the bill on all of those
measures.
Even the demography of State
College provides an opportunity
for unruly crowds to get out of
hand. senior sociology lecturer
Vanitha Dayananda said.
State College experiences a
- youth boom." Dayananda said
-- and it can become more vul
nerable to radical activity.
But State College Mayor
Elizabeth Goreham said students
have been relatively well
behaved thus far this semester,
and she's looking to students to
celebrate the football game with
in reason.
To e- mail reporter: cmms773@psu.edu
2009. according to court docu
ments. In addition to an ounce and
a half of cocaine and about $16,000
in cash, other drugs and drug
paraphernalia were also recov
ered. according to court docu
ments. The drugs seized from
Haicon's residence totaled more
than $37,000 in street value,
according to court documents.
The case against Palazzari is still
open and Vonada pleaded guilty in
exchange for one year's probation,
according to court documents.
To e-mail reporter: zjgsol2@psu.edu