It’s been a whirlwind couple of months for Gavin McKenna, and that continued on Friday.
Less than a week after he was slapped with four different charges, the 18-year-old did get some good news.
WJAC-TV in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, reported on Friday morning that the aggravated assault charge against McKenna has been dropped.
“The district attorney’s office and the State College Police Department have reviewed video evidence of this incident and do not believe that a charge of aggravated assault is supported by the evidence,” Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna announced in a press conference on Friday.
This was the most serious of the four charges, with that felony carrying a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
While that was a slice of good news in what’s surely been a stressful week for the youngster, he’s not out of the woods yet.
He’s still facing three other charges, which most notably include simple assault. This sentence carries a maximum prison sentence of two years. While there is the potential that McKenna could go to jail, first-time offenders in the state are often handed probation and fines if found guilty.
McKenna was also charged with harassment and disorderly conduct.
In Pennsylvania, the threshold for proving aggravated assault is much tougher to prove than simple assault. One of the keys to proving aggravated assault in the state is to prove that the defendant caused injury with extreme indifference to human life.
Unverified internet rumours were swirling that McKenna was verbally provoked before the alleged assault. However, the County District Attorney tried to downplay the speculation.
“Verbal argument never, never justifies physical violence,” Cantorna said.
The preliminary hearing was previously scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 11. No word on whether that has changed.