Third person in custody in October death of area young man

LOCK HAVEN — City police report that Mason Winner has turned himself in at City Hall. He is the 18-year-old local resident sought in the death of a local man in early October.

Police earlier this week had issued an arrest warrant for Winner on charges of recklessly endangering another person and abuse of a corpse, misdemeanors of the second degree. Police chief Keith Kibler told therecord-online that Winner subsequently contacted police, told them he would present himself to them and today did so.

Winner was taken to the Clinton County Correctional Facility for video arraignment which was ongoing before District Judge Joseph Sanders at noontime today.

The body of Brent Stabley, 24, was found at the intersection of Cree Drive and Irwin Street about 11:06 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2, when Clinton County Correctional Facility officers were traveling to Lock Haven Hospital. Authorities attempted CPR, but Stabley was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene. Stabley was Winner’s brother.

Two other men have also been charged in the death, city police report; Richard Gee, 24, of Lock Haven, and Blake Confer, 21, of Lamar Township, are in jail on the same charges.

Court documents reveal that bodily fluids were found around Stabley’s mouth and nose, and injection marks were located in his armpits and on the tops of his feet, among other scrapes. Stabley did not have a cell phone on him, and the bottoms of his feet were clean, police reported.

RICHARD GEE’S REPORT

That week of the incident, Richard Gee told police that he and two other young men – Mason Winner and Blake Confer – had been with Stabley the weekend of his death.

Gee related to police that on Saturday evening he saw Stabley with speed and heroin, and both men used the latter. After Stabley fell asleep, Gee went home and he wasn’t contacted until Sunday by Winner, who said Stabley was doing better.

Gee drove to Confer’s residence to check on Stabley and said he found Stabley not doing well, so he put Stabley in the back seat of his car. Winner and Confer told Gee they’d already notified the hospital they were on their way, but as the men neared the hospital they began to argue about who would take Stabley inside.

When Gee pulled over to discuss the situation, he told police, Winner and Confer allegedly pushed Stabley out of the car. Gee said he got scared, and drove Winner and Confer back to Confer’s residence. Gee told police he returned to the intersection to see if Stabley was found and saw flashing lights on scene, so he left.

BLAKE CONFER’S REPORT

City police also interviewed Confer the week of the incident.
According to court documents, Confer told police Gee gave Stabley two bags of heroin on Oct. 1. After injecting the heroin, Stabley passed out, Confer said, and Gee began assisting the other two men in trying to reverse an overdose.

The three men took off Stabley’s clothing and Gee put ice cubes inside Stabley’s rectum before they put him in an ice bath for two to three hours, according to Confer. After removing him from the ice bath, they put Stabley in various spots around Confer’s room, he said.

Confer told police Gee was anxious and eventually left, and Winner called him numerous times the following day trying to get Gee to return. When Gee returned on Oct. 2, the men put Stabley into Gee’s car to go to the hospital.

Confer said he kept checking for Stabley’s pulse, only feeling it once or twice, and he believes Stabley died at that time.

Confer said that when the group began arguing about who was going inside the hospital, Gee stopped the vehicle at the stop sign, got out and began pulling Stabley from the vehicle with the help of the other two men. Once Stabley was outside of the vehicle, Gee panicked when he saw a car approaching and they all jumped in the car and left, Confer told police.

At no point between Oct. 1 and 2 did the three men call 911 or attempt to get help for Stabley, court documents say.

Winner later told Confer that Gee threw needles over the fence of Confer’s property, according to Confer.

SEARCH & SEIZURE

Police were able to obtain search warrants to search Confer’s residence in Lizardville, where the four men had spent Saturday night, as well as the car that was used to take Stabley to the intersection where he was left.

The search of Confer’s residence resulted in the seizure of a glass bong, a Gatorade gravity bong, two syringes, a blue comforter and wet towels, police said. Two needles were found over the fence of the property, police noted.

When police searched Gee’s 2004 Saturn Vue, they seized a black extra-large t-shirt with dried fluid and grass stains on the sleeve, as well as a portion of rear seat fabric, an Acatel One Touch cell phone, and a Walmart receipt for car cleaning products purchased the morning after the incident.

ONGOING INVESTIGATION

Gee, who was reported to Lycoming County Corrections for violations of his probation by city police, has been held in Lycoming County Correctional Facility since Oct. 3.

Confer was picked up by city police earlier this week and is currently in Clinton County Correctional Facility on $50,000 bail.

An autopsy was conducted on Stabley’s body at J.C. Blair Hospital in Huntingdon.
Toxicology reports from Stabley’s autopsy have not yet been returned, explained Jenn Sholley, Clinton County chief deputy coroner.

Sholley said toxicology reports typically take 4-6 weeks to process.