North Huntingdon man ordered to prison for assault against disabled victim

A North Huntingdon man was ordered to serve up to two years in prison for an assault he claimed he didn’t commit.

Tracy Steele Painter, 60, was sentenced Monday to state prison after he was convicted in absentia following a nonjury trial last month in connection with what police said was a violent attack against John Vargo on Dec. 22, 2020, outside Brandy’s on Main in downtown Irwin.

Vargo, who uses a wheelchair and crutches to walk, said he and Painter had been at odds years after Vargo married Painter’s wife following Painter’s conviction for a prior assault against the woman.

Painter was not present for his nonjury trial April 26 in which Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio found him guilty of simple assault and summary harassment.

According to court records, Painter verbally assaulted and pushed Vargo down stairs outside the tavern.

“I have no sympathy for Mr. Painter, and I don’t see any need for leniency in this case for an attack against a handicapped man,” Vargo said.

Painter, who has been in jail since he was arrested on a bench warrant two days after his trial was completed last month, denied the allegations made by Vargo.

“Mr. Vargo is definitely not telling the truth,” Painter said in court. “All I did, I went outside, put my hands behind my back and told him to hit me. When he didn’t, I went inside to get my food, and when I came out, he was on the ground.”

The judge said she conducted Painter’s trial without him present because he had previously failed to appear in court and jailed several times since November. Two weeks before his April trial, he was released on bail, according to court records.

Bilik-DeFazio said she would not consider Painter’s defense during Monday’s sentencing hearing.

“The only question today is what the penalty should be. I heard from Mr. Vargo at the trial and found him to be credible. I don’t think he tripped and fell on his own,” Bilik-DeFazio said.

She initially sentenced Painter to serve 11½ to 23 months in the county jail, but at his request the judge lengthened the sentence by up to a month to allow him to be sent to a state prison.

Painter previously served a 15-year prison sentence for an assault against his ex-wife.

According to court records, Painter was convicted in 1999 by a Westmoreland County jury of aggravated assault, stalking, burglary, reckless endangerment, child endangerment, unlawful restraint and harassment for an incident involving his then wife and three children.

He was acquitted on one charge of attempted homicide.

Prosecutors claimed Painter broke into the North Huntingdon home of his estranged wife and held her and their three children at knifepoint.

According to prior accounts of that case, Painter slashed his wife’s arms during the siege. He then forced the family on a drive through the streets of North Huntingdon before his wife and children were able to escape the vehicle as it stopped at an Irwin gas station.