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The son of a Lower Burrell district judge who is finishing a six-month jail term related to multiple drug offenses had his bid to collect unemployment compensation quashed this week by a

state appellate court.

A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel affirmed the state Unemployment Compensation Board of Review finding that Stephen Yakopec III, 29, of Lower Burrell, was lawfully “discharged” by his

former employer, Method Automation Services Inc. in Arnold, where he worked as a software engineer until August 1, 2018.

Yakopec is completing his jail sentence at Washington County Jail, where he was transferred last November from Westmoreland County Prison “due to safety concerns,” according to prison

officials. Yakopec is the son of Lower Burrell District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec and the nephew of Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck.

Yakopec was sentenced in September to serve 6 to 23 months in jail after he pleaded guilty in three cases to charges of drug possession. Police alleged he was part of a multi-million dollar

marijuana ring.

He was arrested following a traffic stop in Murrysville on Aug. 1, 2018, when police found 14 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle. A subsequent search of a home Yakopec shared with his

girlfriend found additional illicit drugs and empty boxes that he told police were sent to him from his drug supplier in Oregon, according to court records.

He also pleaded guilty to one drug-related count in connection with a search of a Lower Burrell home in March 2018. Police said Yakopec was in the residence where 13 bags of marijuana were

discovered.

According to the eight-page opinion rejecting Yakopec’s petition to receive unemployment compensation, Yakopec worked four years for the company that assists clients in streamlining business

processes and increasing productivity through software and technology between August 2014 to August 2018.

The opinion states that Yakopec’s status with the company was changed from a salaried employee to an hourly employee in February 2018 “based on his inconsistent start times and failure to

work a 40-hour work week.”

Court documents state company officials met with Yakopec on July 18, 2018, when his “tardiness” continued and he failed to work the expected number of hours each week.

“In the next two weeks, (Yakopec) was late repeatedly. Shortly thereafter, employer discharged (Yakopec) for repeated tardiness,” the opinion said.

His last day with the company was Aug. 1, 2018, the same day he was pulled over by state troopers in a 2018 Dodge Ram pickup truck along Route 22 in Salem after he twice failed to properly

use his turn signal. Authorities discovered a large amount of marijuana in his truck.

Yakopec argued that he is entitled to unemployment benefits asserting “he was confused as to whether he had a start time,” the opinion said.

The decision noted that company officials provided evidence at hearings that Yakopec was warned about his start time via emails and in face-to-face meetings.

”(Yakopec’s) repeated lateness following the July warning constitutes willful misconduct for which (Yakopec) established no good cause,” the opinion written by Judge J. Andrew Crompton said.

Court records show that, in addition to the appellate court decision that he is not entitled to unemployment benefits, the appellate court noted that Yakopec’s bid for benefits also was

rejected by the local service center, and later on appeal to the state review board.

Company officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment on the decision.

In December, a judge denied Yakopec’s request to serve the remainder of his jail term in the Hempfield lockup instead of Washington County. Yakopec was allowed to serve the first portion of

his sentence in a drug rehabilitation program.