MERCER, Pa. - A Mercer County man is scheduled for sentencing today in connection with a crash last year that resulted in two deaths.

Damion Gearhart, 26, of Transfer, is to appear before Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Tedd Nesbit for sentencing on charges that include homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence. On June 4, Gearhart agreed to what is known as an Alford plea to those charges, as well as homicide by vehicle and DUI.

An Alford plea is a type of guilty plea in which a defendant does not admit to committing the crime but acknowledges that the prosecution has enough evidence to likely obtain a conviction at trial. The plea is named after the 1970 U.S. Supreme Court case, North Carolina v. Alford, where the court ruled that a defendant can plead guilty while still maintaining their innocence.

The charges stem from a May 26, 2024, crash in South Pymatuning Township that killed 25-year-old David Helberg III and 29-year-old Brenton Tymchyshyn. According to authorities, Gearhart was the driver of a truck that crashed on Buckeye Drive. A criminal complaint indicated his blood alcohol content was .215%, which is more than twice the legal limit.

Under the plea agreement, additional charges, including reckless driving, were withdrawn or dismissed. The charge of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence carries a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison, with a maximum of 10 years, for each person who dies in the incident.

In Pennsylvania, an Alford plea is treated by the court as a conviction. It allows a defendant to accept a plea agreement and its associated benefits, such as a reduced sentence, without having to make a public confession of guilt.

The court may accept the plea if it determines the defendant's decision is voluntary, intelligent, and based on a strong factual basis presented by the prosecution. While it avoids a trial and potential for a more severe sentence, the conviction appears on the defendant's criminal record as a guilty plea.