Wvw's Rosick Picks University Of Maine 
Spartans Star Also Considered Offers From Two Other Schools, Villanova And
Temple.

Aloysius Fisher

By KYLE S. THOMAS
kylesthomas@leader.net
 Thursday, December 13, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





KINGSTON - Three months after prancing through the borough with an
American flag stuck in the seat of his pants, Timothy St. Pierre agreed
Wednesday to serve 140 hours of community service helping area veterans to
make up for his behavior. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 St. Pierre, 19, of 24 Dodson Lane, Wilkes-Barre, and two other men were
charged in October with insulting the flag and other offenses. He agreed
Wednesday before District Justice Paul Roberts to pay a $300 fine and perform
his community service at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in
Plains Township. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; His friends and cohorts, Dennis J. Wildes Jr., 20, of 30 N. Walnut St.,
Wilkes-Barre Township, and Sam C. Yohey, 22, of 279 Pierce St., Kingston, each
agreed last month to pay a $300 fine and perform 60 hours community service at
the VA Hospital. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police said the charges against the three men are being held in abeyance,
pending community service completion and payment of fines. If they fulfill the
agreement, the charges will be dropped. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police said the men had videotaped a walking tour of Kingston in which they
are seen stealing flags, scattering newspapers and jumping fences. The tape
was confiscated along with three dirty American flags when police stopped the
trio on Center Avenue at 5 a.m., Oct. 25. Police said the tape was in a
camcorder tossed aside as police approached. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The tape shows one of the men, identified by police as St. Pierre, with a
flag on a stick stuck in the back of his pants. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I really don't have anything to say about something that happened three
months ago,'' St. Pierre said at Roberts' office. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Officer Rich Kotchik said St. Pierre received more hours because he
committed a more serious crime under the state's ``insulting the flag'' law. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pennsylvania law defines a person who insults the flag as someone who
``maliciously takes down, defiles, injures, removes or in any manner damages,
insults, or destroys any American flag or the flag of the commonwealth.'' It
is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of two years in prison. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kotchik said police Chief James Keiper decided to offer the men community
service, believing it was significant punishment for what police called
``disrespectful and unpatriotic'' acts. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It includes everything,'' Kotchik said about the hours at the VA
Hospital. It's possible the trio will perform custodial duties and feed elder
veterans at the hospital, he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Keiper was not available Wednesday for comment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ned Delaney, director of Catholic Social Services in Wilkes-Barre, which
runs the community service program for the county, said the average length of
a community service sentence is about 50 hours, but he has seen some as high
as 500 hours. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He said it's at the discretion of the court, but the severity of crime and
the past criminal history of the defendant plays a role in determining the
number of hours. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It's considered a restitution punishment by engaging in community
service, because they are trying to pay back the community for the injury they
have done to the community,'' Delaney said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

19-year-old Who Violated State Law Will Help Out At The Va Hospital, Pay $300 Fine `insulting The Flag' Gets Teen 140 Hours Of Community Service