SMETHPORT — Paul Morrisroe will be serving 7 ½ to 15 years in state prison after being sentenced Wednesday in McKean County Court for the fatal hit-and-run crash that claimed the life of Dakota Heinaman in 2015.
The hearing began at 9:30 a.m., but President Judge John Pavlock and defense attorney James P. Miller indicated they had not had time to read impact statements from Heinaman’s family before that time. Pavlock recessed the hearing for about 20 minutes to review the statements.
Morrisroe stayed seated at the defense table while the attorneys and judge left the courtroom. Dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit, Morrisroe, 40, of Marshburg, was cuffed and shackled, and remained so throughout the hearing. While court was in recess, Morrisroe kept his back to Heinaman’s family and the hundred-or-so people seated behind the prosecution’s table.
As he waited, he looked back at his family a few times, then sat quietly, shaking his head as a few tears streaked down his face.
District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer spoke first when court reconvened.
She talked about the fatal crash on June 2, 2015, that took the life of Heinaman, 20, just in front of the driveway of his home in Cyclone.
“The defendant was in control of every aspect of that night,” Shaffer said of Morrisroe. He chose to drink gin-and-tonics, he chose to smoke marijuana, he chose to decline offers for a ride home, he chose to drive while under the influence, she recounted.
“But for the evidence left by the rim” and good police work, Morrisroe might never have been found, she said. He didn’t stop to help after hitting Heinaman; a passerby and friends and neighbors did.
“The witnesses did what the defendant should have done,” Shaffer said.
She asked Pavlock for the maximum sentence allowable under the law — 8 years, one month to 28 years.
Polly Dehner, Heinaman’s grandmother, was next to speak.
“Morrisroe can fool himself, but he can’t fool God,” Dehner said. The night of the crash, “his truck became a weapon of death. We want Dakota’s name to ring in Morrisroe’s ears forever.”
Speaking of the crash, she said Morrisroe had hit her young grandson “and left him to die in the road like an animal.” She began crying as she spoke, and continued to weep while reading her letter to the judge.
She talked about how Morrisroe drove away, traveling 15 miles on the rim of his truck. “He knew he had to get the hell out of there.
“God was watching, and he got caught.”
Dehner talked about the night of the crash, sitting in her vehicle on the side of the road while her grandson’s lifeless body lay under a white sheet, “with one leg sticking out,” she said, weeping. “We sat on the roadside not wanting to leave Dakota there by himself.”
It was about four hours before the investigation was to the point where the young man’s body was removed from the pavement and taken to the funeral home.
“The tears never stopped that night. Morrisroe went home that night without a care in the world,” Dehner said. “He left our family to pick up the pieces.
“I don’t care what the law says, it was intentional murder,” Dehner said. “We have been sentenced to a life of grief.”
She asked for a harsh sentence for Morrisroe, and added, “he should be sentenced to spend time in a morgue to see what impaired drivers do.”
Dehner also mentioned being told during proceedings in the case that the family could not have their “Justice for Dakota” shirts or buttons on in the courtroom. “It was like a slap in the face. Why is it the accused have more rights than the victim?”
Continuing, she said of Morrisroe, “He should have been a man, not a mouse, and come clean with what he did.”
She read a few poems and presented several photos for the judge to look at, photos capturing milestones in Heinaman’s life, from an ultrasound before he was born to a photo of him on the motorcycle on which he was killed.
Heinaman’s sister, Alicia Nichols, said it was the night before her graduation from Bradford Area High School when she lost her brother. She’s pregnant, she explained, and is heartbroken that her big brother will never get a chance to hold his niece.
“I would have been the aunt to his silly children that would have taken after him,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion. “I re-live June 2 often.”
She said even if Morrisroe received the maximum sentence, “it could never equal a life without Dakota.”
Heinaman’s mother, Dawn James, and her young son, Robert, addressed the court as well.
“It’s been one year, 264 days since Dakota’s murder,” she said. Addressing Pavlock, she said, “I hope you never have to bury your children.”
Speaking of the crash, she said, “I lost a piece of me that night.” Referring to the 20 years she had with her son, she said, “I am a better person because of him. I miss him more than anything. I will never see him fall in love or get married. I will never hold his babies. It hurts so bad.”
She played a song that had been written and performed by Heinaman’s friends. It was called “I Miss You Bro.” Part of the lyrics were “if that scumbag didn’t drive you’d still be with us.”
James also read a statement from her son, Robert. “I didn’t think of (Dakota) dying and now I think of everyone dying.”
For the defense, Miller made an argument to merge some charges together for sentencing.
He spoke briefly on Morrisroe’s behalf. “This is obviously a tragic situation,” Miller said. “Everyone feels for the loss of Dakota Heinaman.”
Addressing Pavlock, Miller said, “The Commonwealth has asked you to impose what is basically a life sentence for a man 40-years-old.” However, he argued, several counts should merge for sentencing. He suggested an appropriate sentence would be 4 to 10 years.
Pavlock then asked Morrisroe if he wanted to make a statement. Morrisroe replied, “Under the advice of my attorneys, I choose not to.”
Heinaman’s family looked crestfallen. Not once has Morrisroe indicated remorse, instead maintaining his innocence throughout the case.
Pavlock then began speaking, explaining he had run into someone in a store during the time frame of this case. That person told him “nobody wins.”
“I’ve thought a lot about that,” the judge said. “It’s an adversarial system.”
He said over the years, he’s heard young attorneys talk about a “win,” but said older attorneys “who have seen a lot of heartbreaking things don’t throw that term ‘win’ around much. There’s too much loss in a criminal case for anyone to win. The only way to win would be to go back in time and put things back the way they were,” the judge said. “Our system can’t create a win out of so much loss.”
He talked about the factors to be considered in a sentence — punishment, deterrence and rehabilitation of the defendant.
“First, the need for punishment,” Pavlock continued, “and the level of harm that was done by the defendant’s illegal actions. The harm to Dakota Heinaman couldn’t have been greater. The initial loss was magnified by him driving away on that rim.”
He described Morrisroe driving away, and leaving the young man dying on the road “because of selfish motivation. He simply didn’t want the responsibility for what he had done.”
Discussing the rehabilitation factor, the judge said Morrisroe has a prior criminal history. “Substance abuse is at the center of his criminal actions,” Pavlock said.
Regarding deterrence, the judge said, “What type of sentence will deter this defendant from putting others at risk with similar conduct? Or discourage others from committing crimes like this in the future?
“When they are at a bar … drinking, maybe smoking marijuana, what sentence could motivate them to accept that ride home,” Pavlock said.
He imposed the sentence of 7 ½ to 15 years in state prison, with credit for 29 days of time served.
Morrisroe, stoical, was led from the courtroom by McKean County Sheriff Dan Woods and deputies. The people in the courtroom slowly spilled out in the hallway, many stopping to hug Heinaman’s family or to express sympathy.
Following the hearing, James told The Era, “I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who supported us, whether they were there or had a sticker or whatever. Everybody at the District Attorney’s office, all the police, so many people worked so hard on this case.
“We got Justice for Dakota.
“We would have loved for it to be a little longer, but we’re OK,” she said.
Shaffer released a prepared statement. “The criminal justice system cannot impose a sentence that truly addresses the severity of the crime and the impact the crimes had on the victim, his family or the community. The pain Dakota Heinaman’s family had endured and will continue to endure is immeasurable.”
She continued, “While the Commonwealth sought the maximum sentence allowed, we appreciate the court’s considerations in tailoring the sentence and we accept the outcome. Dakota was the son of Harry and Dawn but the community adopted him as its own on June 2, 2015.
“The Commonwealth would like to acknowledge Dakota’s family and their strength, the police and their expertise and diligence, and the witnesses for their willingness to come forward. These efforts resulted in the conviction,” she concluded.
Miller had only a few words to say.
“The loss of Dakota Heinaman is a tragedy and has affected everyone involved,” the defense attorney said. “Mr. Morrisroe maintains his innocence and we do plan to appeal.”
