DA seeks to hike tab for Gudgeonville Bridge arson [Erie Times-News, Pa.]

Jan. 30--The two men who admitted to burning down the historic Gudgeonville Bridge in 2009 already owe $177,751.89 for the bridge's replacement.

Depending on how a judge rules, that bill could go up by more than $56,000 for Joshua Bell, 26, and Jeffrey Gleason, 27, who are still serving state prison sentences for the arson.

The Erie County District Attorney's Office has asked a judge to increase the amount of restitution the two owe based on a revised statement of expenses from Integrated Risk Management, the company that funded the Girard Township bridge reconstruction on behalf of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Risk Management Association, the township's insurer.

The covered bridge, which had spanned Elk Creek for 140 years, was replaced with a steel structure in August 2009. In a hearing Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Roger Bauer told Erie County President Judge Ernest J. DiSantis Jr. he received notice late in 2010, long after Bell and Gleason were sentenced, that the actual expense incurred by the insurer was $234,158.92.

He said he did not file the motion asking to hike the men's restitution immediately because he was busy with other cases. Bauer filed the motion that triggered Tuesday's hearing on Nov. 2. The law allows for restitution to be amended at any time, DiSantis noted.

Bell's lawyer, Garrett Taylor, and Gleason's lawyer, Keith Clelland, both asked DiSantis to reject the increase. Taylor said he found the itemized list of expenses the insurance company billed for unclear.

DiSantis said he would rule at a later date.

Bell is serving five and a half to 14 years for destroying the covered bridge and for committing a string of other crimes.

Gleason was sentenced to serve five to 10 years for the arson and an unrelated incident.

LISA THOMPSON can be reached at 870-1802 or by e-mail. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNthompson.

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