Superior Court upholds sentences against two Pagans convicted of beating man in Charleroi
The state Superior Court has upheld the lengthy prison sentences for two members of the Pagans Motorcycle Club who severely beat a man in Charleroi nearly four years ago.
In its separate rulings Monday, the appellate court determined that the 20- to- 40-year sentences for Matthew James Vasquez and Joseph Theodore Olinsky III were legal under the trial court’s discretion after the co-defendants were convicted by a Washington County jury in February 2020.
Vasquez, 34, of Monessen, and Olinsky, 49, of Somerset, were part of a group of men who beat Troy Harris, who was a former Pagan and current member of a rival motorcycle club, during a fight April 18, 2019, at the Charleroi Slovak Club on McKean Avenue.
The two men were one of 10 people charged in connection with the attack on Harris. The beating of Harris, who suffered severe head injuries that apparently later caused a stroke and left him with cognitive problems, was captured on surveillance video.
Vasquez and Olinsky were convicted of aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy and simple assault, while they were acquitted of attempted homicide and conspiracy. In May 2020, Judge John DiSalle sentenced both Vasquez and Olinsky to serve 20 to 40 years in prison, and both are currently lodged in separate state prisons in Western Pennsylvania.
“We’re very happy about it,” said Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh, who prosecuted the case. “We tried the case and the jury spoke. (The Superior Court) kept the ruling and affirmed the conviction.”
In his appeal, Olinsky argued that his sentence went beyond normal guidelines and far exceeded an apparent plea offer from prosecutors in exchange for a 3 ½- to- 7-year sentence. Eight others charged in the beating pleaded guilty or no contest, and were sentenced to significantly less jail time or probation.
“While the sentencing court’s emphasis of Olinsky’s lack of remorse and the jury’s disbelief of Olinsky’s testimony reflect an awareness of the procedural history of the case, we conclude that they do not show a reliance on Olinsky’s exercise of his right to a jury trial in imposing sentence,” the Superior Court wrote in its order rejecting Olinksy’s appeal. “Additionally, the sentencing court notes in its opinions that it provided reasons for department from the sentencing guidelines and imposing the maximum sentence available.”
The Superior Court decided that the trial court “did not abuse its discretion” in sentencing Vasquez.
“As to the treatment of the Pagans who were sentenced pursuant to plea agreements, we note that such defendants are not similarly situated for sentencing purposes; therefore, Vasquez’s comparatively harsher sentence does not demonstrate that he was punished for exercising his constitutional rights,” the appellate court wrote in its order denying Vasquez’s appeal.
It was not known if either convicted man would appeal to the state Supreme Court. Neither Vasquez’s attorney, Stephen Colafella, nor the lawyer who represented Olinsky, Robert Perkins, could be reached for comment Tuesday.