Bail lowered for suspects in Sunbury mink case; must report to probation

Nov. 6—SUNBURY — An engaged Massachusetts couple accused of releasing 683 mink from a fur farm outside Sunbury must each post $15,000 and report to Northumberland County Probation twice a month if they are released from jail, a county judge ordered.

Christopher Legere, 25, who now goes by Celeste, and co-defendant Cara Mitrano, 27, both face felony eco-terrorism charges. The duo asked President Judge Paige Rosini to modify the bail set by District Judge Rachel Wiest Benner at the request of District Attorney Michael O'Donnell.

The initial bail included $150,000 straight cash bail. Upon release on bail, they had to remain in Pennsylvania with an approved home plan, wear electronic monitoring devices, and have no contact with each other.

In an order Wednesday, Rosini kept the $150,000 but granted Legere and Mitrano an opportunity to post $15,000 bail. She also vacated several conditions.

Seven witnesses, including Legere and Mitrano, testified in front of Rosini Monday during a bail modification hearing.

Sunbury attorney James Best represents Legere. Public defender Gerald Iwanejko represents Mitrano.

The attorneys argued their clients were upstanding community members and were not a flight risk. Best said O'Donnell provided no evidence the couple would be a flight risk.

O'Donnell said he provided the criminal complaint as evidence and said the two were an extreme flight risk and they both had zero connections to the area and could not provide adequate addresses for where they lived.

In Rosini's order on Wednesday, the judge vacated Wiest-Benner's ruling and ordered the couple, if they were to post bail, could leave the state to return to their homes but must report to probation twice a month either in person or by video or other electronic method. Legere told Rosini she had a place to stay in Worcester Mass, while Mitrano said she had options in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Both told the judge they would attend any court proceedings.

The couple must report to probation immediately if released or by 9 a.m. the next business day bail is posted after hours, the order stated.

Best said he was happy for Legere.

"My client is grateful to the court for recognizing that she is not a danger to the community," he said. "She looks forward to returning to her community while she fights these charges."

Legere testified since incarceration on Oct. 19 she has endured verbal abuse inside the Northumberland County Jail and has been placed in protective custody, which is causing mental health issues.

Legere and Mitrano face felony eco-terrorism charges. State troopers said the two released the mink at the farm, outside of Sunbury, early Oct. 19 before being caught on camera and eventually arrested by Ralpho Township police shortly after the alleged incident during a traffic stop.

O'Donnell told Rosini he was completely against lowering the bail or changing the modifications. On Wednesday, he said he was disappointed with the judge's order.

"The decision of President Judge (Paige) Rosini to reduce bail to 10 percent and remove the bail conditions of GPS monitoring, home confinement, and an approved home plan in Pennsylvania is deeply troubling," he said. "To quantify this organized attack on a lawful business as 'just a property crime' downplays the nature of this crime and sends a poor message to the businesses of Northumberland County."

According to the court documents, Federal Bureau of Investigation officials said the suspects are connected to anarchist communes in Worcester, Mass.

Troopers said they intercepted Northumberland County Jail phone calls where Legere claims she was promised $50,000, according to a criminal complaint.

According to state police, troopers were called to the farm early on Oct. 19. Officers spoke to members of the Stahl family, who said they took pictures of the suspects' vehicle as members of the fur farm attempted to block the road so the suspects couldn't leave, police said.

The suspects tried to flee once, troopers said, and when they were located, the vehicle they were in accelerated toward one of the Stahl's vehicles, damaging it before fleeing south on Airport Road, troopers said.

This was the second time in just more than a year the fur farm was struck. Thousands of mink were released in September 2023.