STATE COLLEGE - Borough police on Tuesday charged a Pottsville man with rioting at State College in response to the firing of head football coach Joe Paterno in early November.
Shawn Munir, 22, of 1515 Howard Ave., Pottsville, was one of the protestors who toppled a news van on the 200 block of East College Avenue late Nov. 9, causing more than $180,000 in damage, according to the criminal complaint filed by State College police.
Police charged Munir with three felonies, engaging in a riot and two types of criminal mischief, tampering and damaging property; a misdemeanor, disorderly conduct; and a summary charge of obstructing highways.
On Tuesday, Munir was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Jonathan D. Grine, State College, fingerprinted, then placed in Centre County Correctional Facility in Bellefonte for a brief period Tuesday before he was released on $15,000 cash bail, a prison spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Munir's preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Dec. 21 before Grine, according to the website for Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System.
One of many
Munir is one of a group of individuals who were charged in the Penn State riots Nov. 9. According to the criminal complaint filed by State College police, the incidents Munir was involved in occurred between 11:27 p.m. Nov. 9 and 12:12 a.m. Nov. 10.
During that time frame, thousands of people, many of them Penn State University students, flooded State College Borough's downtown area. Protesting the firing of Paterno, the students engaged in numerous acts of criminal mischief, which included throwing rocks and bottles at police officers, according to the criminal complaint.
Hundreds of people surrounded a van owned by WTAJ News, Altoona. The crowd started chanting, encouraging themselves to flip the van. In the excitement, broadcast camera operators and people in the crowd started shooting videos, police said.
That's how Munir was caught, according to the complaint.
"The identification of the defendant came from a tip through the (Penn State University Police Department) Online Confidential form," according to the complaint.
Police verified Munir's identity by conducting an interview and finding images on the Pennsylvania Digital Library, according to the complaint.
In video evidence, Munir can be seen wearing jeans, a gray sweatshirt and a white ball cap. He is waiving his arm in the air, encouraging people to join him as he approaches the north side of the news van and helps others flip it over on its side, according to the complaint.
After the van had been overturned, many people remained in the area to further damage it and steal items from it. Munir grabbed an object from the van, but claimed he later dropped it on the ground, according to the complaint.
Munir could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
According to the Associated Press, Eleven students have been charged in connection with the riot, and seven, including Muir, face felony charges. Four 20-year-old women face criminal mischief charges.