If tried as an adult and convicted, the 15-year-old could be sentenced to 20-40 years imprisonment.
By John Tredrea
Dennis Gumbs, the 15-year-old Allentown, Pa., boy charged with killing former Hopewell Township resident Elaine Cowell on Jan. 3, pleaded not guilty in Lehigh County court Tuesday, said First Assistant District Attorney Maria Dantos, who is prosecuting the case, on Wednesday.
Ms. Cowell, 33, a mother of three young children, was killed by a large block of ice Dennis Gumbs allegedly dropped from the Fifth Street bridge over U.S. Route 22 in Whitehall, Pa. The boy allegedly held the ice on the edge of the bridge until the car in which Ms. Cowell was riding, in the front passenger seat, approached. Then he allegedly let the ice fall. It crashed through the windshield of the car, hitting Ms. Cowell in the chest. She was pronounced dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital less than an hour later.
Ms. Dantos maintains that the malice and disregard for life shown by the defendant’s act clearly indicate that he should be tried as an adult on a charge of third-degree murder. If tried as an adult and convicted on that charge, he could be sentenced to 20-40 years imprisonment, she said.
Ms. Dantos said that, during Tuesday’s preliminary hearing, one of Dennis Gumbs’ two attorneys, Glennis Clark of Allentown, argued that the incident was a case of involuntary manslaughter, because the boy only meant to pull a prank and did not mean to hurt anyone.
Like third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter falls under the Pennsylvania statute pertaining to criminal homicide, Ms. Dantos explained. The difference is that, while third-degree murder could bring a sentence of 20-40 years if he is convicted, the sentence would be two and a half to five years if he were convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Bail was set at $80,000 by district Judge Thomas Murphy during Tuesday’s preliminary hearing, Ms. Dantos said. The judge also ordered that the defendant be held under house arrest if he is bailed out.
As of Wednesday morning, he had not been bailed out, Ms. Dantos said. She said bail would require 10 percent of the amount set by the judge, or $8,000, to be paid in cash, plus collateral deemed acceptable by the court for the $72,000 balance. She said Gumbs family may post bail soon.
"I believe they have three (real estate) properties that could be used to cover the collateral portion of the bail," she said.
Dennis Gumbs is being represented by Allentown, Pa.-based attorney Rebeca Torres in addition to Mr. Clark. Ms. Torres said two weeks ago that she and Mr. Clark believe their client should be tried as a juvenile and that they will file a petition with the court to that effect. Dennis Gumbs has been charged as an adult and has been held in Lehigh County Prison since Jan. 8.
Before filing a petition seeking the switch to juvenile court, defense team must have the boy evaluated by a psychiatrist, whose report would be filed along with the petition. Ms. Torres said two weeks ago that the psychiatric evaluation, which had just been initiated at that point, would take about a month to complete.
"I’ve received no petition yet seeking to send this case to juvenile court," Ms. Dantos said Wednesday. If the suspect is tried as an adult, it will be a jury trial, she said. If the case is switched to juvenile court, a judge will handle the case alone.
Ms. Cowell’s father, William Ubry of Hopewell Township, said Wednesday that he feels confident "the legal system will do the right thing. All I want is to see justice done and for this to be the kind of example that will see to it that nothing like this happens again, so that kids will realize what can happen if they throw things off a bridge."
Mr. Ubry wants wire mesh installed on bridges over roadways as a device to prevent the sort of act that took his daughter’s life. He said he has been in contact with U.S. Congressman Rush Holt’s office on the issue. "A member of his staff told me Mr. Holt will look into this and I’d hear from them," Mr. Ubry said.
Mr. Ubry said about 25 relatives and friends of Ms. Cowell attended Tuesday’s preliminary hearing.
Dennis Gumbs’ attorneys could not be reached for comment before press time.

