A Bradford Township man’s conviction for allegedly shooting across U.S. Route 219 has been overturned by the state Superior Court.
Last month, a three-judge panel tossed out Richard Yovichin’s conviction on charges of recklessly endangering another person and propulsion of missiles onto a roadway, charges of which he had been found guilty by a jury in McKean County Court in March of 2019.
He had been sentenced to 18 months probation.
The jury found that on Dec. 20, 2017, Bradford Township Police responded to South Avenue within the township for a call of gun shots in the area. Neighbors reported to police they saw Yovichin shooting a gun toward the roadway, in the direction of other homes.
However, the appeals court ruled there was insufficient evidence to uphold either charge. The judges indicated that there was no proof that anything had actually been fired from Yovichin’s gun, and police were unable to recover any evidence that indicated he had actually fired bullets, according to the ruling.
Yovichin, 60, of 662 South Ave., has had longstanding disputes with several of his neighbors, who allege he has harassed them for years. Police routinely respond to calls of disturbances in the neighborhood, and hear allegations of Yovichin pointing a gun at neighbors, sounding a game call at neighbors, shining a laser or light at neighbors, piling snow at the end of his driveway so high neighbors could not see to pull out, making a gun with his fingers, painting things on snow banks facing neighbors’ homes and growling at neighbor children, according to a criminal complaint filed against him in the past.
In 2019, one neighbor called in an Erie television station because the U.S. Postal Service refused to deliver mail to the homes in the neighborhood. There was a claim that Yovichin had displayed threatening behavior toward the mail carrier, which led to the Postal Service installing a box in the area where the neighbors can pick up their mail.
Earlier this week, Yovichin was arraigned on charges for allegedly flicking a lighter near firecrackers inside Keystone Fireworks store in Foster Township. When asked to show identification, he showed his ID card from Federal Bureau of Prisons, from where he is retired.
He is free on $2,500 unsecured bail on allegations in that case.
According to the online court dockets, it appears as though a case is still open against Yovichin from 2018, when he was charged with stalking, terroristic threats, intimidating a witness or victim, disorderly conduct, harassment and criminal mischief. There has been no action on the case since March 2019, when it was listed for a backup trial.
The case is marked active, and no resolution is listed. District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer did not return a message seeking comment.
