Man gets probation for DUI
A Kittanning man was sentenced to probation in Butler County Court on Thursday, after being charged in a high-speed chase with a stolen car in Butler.
Vincent T. Wallace, 61, was sentenced to 18 months' county probation by President Judge Thomas Doerr. He was also ordered to pay court costs and $600 in fines, complete 60 hours of community service, complete an Alcohol Highway Safety School, complete a drug and alcohol assessment, attend a Victim Impact Panel and complete the county litter pickup program.
That probation will run consecutive to probation he is currently serving in Armstrong County, which is expected to expire in March.
Wallace's attorney, assistant public defender Charles Nedz, said Wallace has completed 50 hours of community service already, as well as inpatient and outpatient treatment.
Wallace pleaded guilty Dec. 19 to misdemeanor driving under the influence and resisting arrest before Judge Timothy McCune.
He was initially charged with felony theft, receiving stolen property and fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, as well as misdemeanor resisting arrest, DUI and accidents involving injury, and several summary traffic violations after an incident Oct. 23, 2015.
Butler police filed the charges after an incident that began at the intersection of Main and Jefferson streets when Wallace stole a parked Pontiac Sunfire, which the owner had left running while he got money from an ATM.
The vehicle was then spotted in the parking lot behind 340 N. McKean St. and led police on the chase through streets on the eastern side of the city. The vehicle then crashed into a Ford Explorer at the intersection of McKean and Jefferson streets.
The vehicle then continued driving in the wrong direction on the one-way street before it was hit by a pursuing patrol car, sending it onto the curb near Birch Street.
Wallace then ran off before he was tackled by officers on East Cunningham Street, police said.
A female passenger in the SUV was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital with pain in her arms. The collision caused enough damage to the vehicle that she had to be extricated by city firefighters.
Police said Wallace denied drinking but said he had injected heroin earlier.
He said he wanted to “apologize to Butler County for acting crazy.”
