Chris Bell enters guilty plea

By Pete Bosak

BELLEFONTE — A former Penn State wide receiver who police said stormed into a dining hall with a knife to confront a teammate and had to be restrained by coaches has entered a guilty plea that will not require jail time.

Christopher Bell, 21, of Norfolk, Va., entered a guilty plea to making terroristic threats Tuesday before Centre County Judge Bradley P. Lunsford. But the judge seemed to have reservations about the deal, which calls for Bell to serve two years of probation, and delayed sentencing until Aug. 29.

Lunsford ordered a pre-sentence investigation into Bell’s past and his alleged offense before sentencing.

As part of the plea, Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira agreed to drop charges of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, two counts of disorderly conduct and a harassment charge.

Madeira said the terroristic threats misdemeanor count was the most serious of the charges the former Nittany Lion was facing.

“Part of the issue with any terroristic threats case is, did anyone actually feel threatened?” Madeira said.

Bell, who was suspended from the football team at the time, was accused of entering Pollock Commons Dining Hall on campus about 6:30 p.m.

April 7 and brandishing a knife. Police said he approached teammate Devon Still, pulled a knife from his shirt sleeve and threatened to stab him.

Assistant football coaches Michael McQueary, Richard Anderson and Kermit Buggs disarmed Bell, police said.

Another assistant led Still, a defensive lineman, away from the altercation, police said.

But as Still was being led away, the player heard Bell yelling at him that “I have more knives and a gun up here,” according to court documents.

Centre County Assistant District Attorney Nathan Boob, who handled the plea for the commonwealth, told the court Still has approved the deal offered by the district attorney’s office.

Bell was jailed in lieu of bail and by the time he had posted it and was freed from the Centre County jail, Coach Joe Paterno had permanently booted Bell from the squad.

Still told police that he had accused Bell of stealing his cell phone case from his locker earlier in the day and that he believes the receiver stole from him in the past as well, according to court documents.

Bell denied the accusations and told Still he was going to buy a new cell phone case, bring it to Still and see if Still would try to take it from him, according to a criminal complaint.

And that’s what Bell did, police said, brought a new cell phone case to the dining hall and yelled at Still that he could “come and get the case and I am going to stab you,” according to court documents.

The knife’s blade measured 8 inches and the overall length was about a foot, police said. Bell’s attorney, Tony DeBoef, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Pete Bosak can be reached at 235-3928.