Chance Marsteller gets 7 years probation
Former wrestling champion Chance Marsteller received seven years of court supervision and an intensive probationary period Monday during his court sentencing at the Clinton County courthouse.
Marsteller's probation includes drug and alcohol testing and an adult probationary period, during which he'll report to the district probation department twice a week.
Judge Michael Salisbury also ordered Marsteller to complete 350 hours of community service. His social media accounts and text messages will be monitored by the probation office, and a curfew of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. will be implemented, Salisbury said. Marsteller was also fined $1,000.
The sentence stems from an incident last August, when Marsteller — a four-time state wrestling champion at Kennard-Dale High School — was accused of kicking, spitting and biting at police officers after they were called to Evergreen Commons, an apartment complex near Lock Haven University, where he is a student.
Marsteller had a blood alcohol content that was more than three times the legal limit for driving and also had marijuana and cocaine in his system, according to court documents.
He had been banging on apartment doors while wearing only a towel, according to the Lock Haven Police Department. He was dismissed from the Lock Haven wrestling team as a result of the allegations.
He was charged with six counts of aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, disorderly conduct/fighting, six counts of recklessly endangering another, six counts of simple assault, one count of open lewdness and public intoxication.
Days following the incident, Marsteller posted $50,000 bail and returned home to Fawn Grove in southern York County.
He pleaded guilty to some of the charges — simple assault and open lewdness — in January.
Marsteller will also be asked to pay about $720 for the medical bills incurred by one of the victims, police officer Bryan Burger. He will submit letters of apology to four other Lock Haven police officers who were involved in the incident and to Lock Haven emergency room personnel.
Burger was in the courtroom Monday but offered no objections to Marsteller’s plea agreement, nor did any of the other six victims that night, according to District Attorney David Strouse.
Salisbury said to Marsteller, if there was any opposition "you would have more than likely (been) looking at jail time.”
Marsteller apologized to Burger and the other victims in a letter he read aloud to the court Monday.
"I wish I could take it back — all of it," he said. "That's not the real me."
Salisbury said the one count of open lewdness and six counts of simple assault Marsteller pleaded guilty to in January each carry maximum sentences of six-and-a-half to 13 years in jail.
Salisbury said the plea agreement is a “one-time deal” and added that Marsteller will face significant jail time if he violates it.
Marsteller held a 166-0 career record at Kennard-Dale and was the No. 1 high school recruit in the country before graduating in 2014. He originally attended Oklahoma State University on a wrestling scholarship before transferring to Lock Haven last May.
He returned to Lock Haven as a student last month and said Monday he is taking 15 academic credits this semester. He plans on rejoining the wrestling team in the 2017-18 academic year.
While addressing Marsteller, Salisbury said while the 21-year-old has attained a "successful wrestling career, you have not had that success in your daily life."
Marsteller thanked the court for getting a "second opportunity."
"Nothing is given in life, and I cannot take anything for granted," he said.
Marsteller's attorney, Ryan C. Gardner, said he has had "countless discussions with Mr. Marsteller and his family" and that he's seen "tremendous growth" from Marsteller since the incident.
Gardner added that he was "very pleased" Salisbury accepted the plea agreement.
"He obviously had a lot of discretion here," Gardner said. "It would have been well within his judicial discretion not to go along with the plea agreement, given the circumstances. So we're very happy."
Marsteller's mother, Suzanne, said following Monday's sentencing that the seven-year probation period is a long time but that it's nice to have closure.
"He's doing really good," she said of her son. "I'm super proud of him. He can do anything."