Man who broke girlfriend out of Philhaven sentenced

John Latimer
Lebanon Daily News

A Lancaster County man who broke his girlfriend out of WellSpan Philhaven last August has received a sentence of four-and-a-half years that includes time in prison and a mental health facility.

Elliott Ravert, 19, of Narvon, was sentenced earlier this month by Judge Bradford H. Charles after pleading guilty to charges of burglary, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, unlawful restraint and false imprisonment.

Ravert, who was 18 at the time, pointed a lookalike handgun at two Philhaven nurses to gain the release of 21-year-old Alicia Buzzard, who had been placed in the West Cornwall Township mental health facility by her parents the month before.

More:Search continues for Philhaven patient who left with armed man

The couple fled in Ravert's pickup truck but were found three days later in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, when they were caught shoplifting at a Walmart.

Ravert's plea agreement initially called for a sentence of 11-and-a-half to 23 months in Lebanon County prison to be followed by treatment at a mental health facility. Charges of robbery and coercion were dropped and credit for time served were also part of the deal.

More:Man pleads guilty to forcibly taking girlfriend from Philhaven

In a sentencing memorandum justifying the length of the original sentence, Ravert's Lancaster attorney Jason Asbell stated Ravert was born prematurely to a heroin-addicted mother with traces of heroin and cocaine in his system at birth.

He also spent the first 18 months of his life in foster care before being adopted by his parents, whom he lived with at the time of the crime, according to the document.

During his childhood Ravert was diagnosed with multiple mental disorders, including Reactive Attachment Disorder for having been deprived of a consistent caregiver during his infancy.

The disorder can cause children to be emotionally withdrawn and have difficulty establishing normal social relationships with their adult caregivers, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Asbell noted that Ravert also took many medications during his life. But prior to the incident at Philhaven he had stopped taking the medications under supervision of a doctor because he wanted to join the military.

Asbell tried to explain Ravert's criminal behavior, stating he felt his first strong attachment to Buzzard, whom he had met in high school a few months earlier. And because of his fragile mental state, when Buzzard's parents prevented him from visiting her at Philhaven he felt he had to "rescue her."

"Being cut off from his girlfriend was simply not acceptable," Asbell wrote.

The arguments were not persuasive enough for Judge Bradford Charles, who rejected the plea agreement and replaced it with the longer sentence.

More:Judge: Plea for Phillhaven incident not enough 

"We believe the defendant's conduct has earned him incarceration. However, we will try to structure a sentence that will also include inpatient treatment," Charles said in his sentencing document.

The sentence requires that Ravert receive mental health treatment during its four-and-a-half-year duration.

He will serve the first 15 months in Lebanon County Correctional Facility but he was credited with 10 months time served.

He then will serve the next nine months in an inpatient facility. 

Following that, Ravert will serve six months on house arrest and the remaining two years on probation. 

Ravert was also directed not to set foot on Philhaven's property and is forbidden to have contact with the victims, whom he was directed to write a letter of apology to. He also will have to pay court costs and fines.