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Defendant in Franklin Regional school stabbing not mentally ill, Westmoreland judge rules

Tribune-Review - 2/4/2017

Feb. 03--A Westmoreland County judge ruled Friday that a former Franklin Regional High School student cannot plead guilty but mentally ill for a knife attack three years ago that injured 20 classmates and a security guard.

The ruling means that Alex Hribal, 19, will either go to trial or plead guilty without a mental health finding.

"Although the court finds that Hribal may have suffered from a psychotic illness, the court is of the opinion that Hribal possessed the capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct and substantially confirm his conduct to the law in April 9, 2014," Judge Christopher Feliciani wrote in the ruling.

Defense attorney Pat Thomassey could not be reached for comment. He previously said Hribal would take the case to trial if his attempt to plead guilty but mentally ill were rejected.

Hribal, who was 16 at the time of the attack, faces 21 counts each of attempted murder and aggravated assault as well as a weapons offense. He is accused of using two kitchen knives to slash and stab victims as he ran down a school hallway before the start of class.

He was subdued in the hallway by a school official moments after the attack and has been in custody since.

In November, Hribal went to court and attempted to plead guilty but mentally ill during a hearing in which Thomassey presented testimony from mental health experts who diagnosed him as schizophrenic and psychotic at the time of the assaults.

The defense maintained the guilty but mentally ill plea would have no impact on any sentence Hribal could receive. The determination only provided an opportunity to have Hribal serve a portion of the sentence in a mental health facility. Once it was determined he was no longer mentally ill, he would have been returned to prison for the balance of the penalty, Thomassey said.

District Attorney John Peck argued Hribal's mental condition did not rise to the level required to enter a mentally ill plea.

In court documents and during the hearing, Peck argued that Hribal had a conscious desire to harm classmates and deliberately planned the incident to resemble a 1999 school shooting in Colorado.

Police found a handwritten essay in Hribal's locker, dated days before the rampage, that explained his reasons for the stabbings and his desire to kill classmates, Peck said.

The judge said that missive was evidence that Hribal was aware of the seriousness of his actions and argued against the defense theory that his mental illness led to the knife rampage.

With the judge's ruling barring a guilty but mentally ill plea, it will be up to Hribal to determine how the case proceeds, Peck said.

"The defendant has a decision to make, if he intends to plead guilty or seek a jury or nonjury trial," Peck said Friday.

Peck said no formal plea bargain offers have been made to Hribal, and negotiations with the defense for a potential deal were halted last summer after victims and their families demanded that any agreement include a long prison sentence.

"They are seeking a lengthy term of incarceration based on the trauma that was inflicted on them and their family members," Peck said.

The judge ordered that a hearing be scheduled soon to determine how the case would proceed.

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.

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