Chase suspect has had other legal run-ins
A Butler Township man accused of deliberately ramming his pickup truck into the side of a state police cruiser during a chase early Sunday morning has had previous brushes with the law.
Nicholas A. Massella, 23, remains in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail. He's facing more than two dozen charges, four of them felonies, stemming from his latest arrest.
He's also being held on a probation violation, authorities said.
Trooper Casey Fuller, who was injured in the chase, meanwhile, is back on the job but on limited duty, police said.
Fuller and Trooper Matthew Stimac stopped Massella about 2:05 a.m. for a traffic violation at North Chestnut and New Castle streets in Butler, according to court documents.
The defendant, however, drove away but not before admitting that he had been drinking, police said.
The vehicle chase continued into Butler Township. On East Brady Street, police said, Massella stopped long enough for four “unwilling” passengers in the truck to get out.
Troopers subsequently used a bumping tactic known as a precision immobilization technique, or PIT maneuver, to stop the truck — but not for long.
Massella “accelerated his vehicle and sped towards the stopped police (car),” documents said. He is accused of intentionally driving his truck into the driver's side of the cruiser.
Later, police said, he made a voluntary statement, saying “since the PIT was utilized he wanted to keep up with the ramming.”
Fuller suffered an injury to one of his hands or wrists, police said. He was treated at an undisclosed medical facility. Stimac was not injured.
The cruiser, which sustained about $25,000 damage, was knocked out of service, allowing Massella to drive away.Police eventually found him around 5:30 a.m., passed out behind the wheel of his truck parked in the right-hand lane of Route 528 in Franklin Township.He was arrested and taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for a blood test. Toxicology results were pending.District Judge Kevin O'Donnell arraigned Massella on two counts of aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, criminal mischief and fleeing or attempting to elude police, all felonies.He is also facing numerous other charges including driving under the influence, six counts of reckless endangerment and a long list of traffic offenses.His preliminary hearing was not immediately scheduled. It was not known if he has an attorney.Butler County Court records showed that Massella was arrested in July 2018 for allegedly providing false information stemming from an attempted purchase of a rifle at a Summit Township gun store in 2017.He eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unsworn falsification to authorities, He was sentenced April 25 of this year to six months on probation and fined $100.In an unrelated domestic violence case, Massella was sentenced in July 2018 to 12 months on the county's Intermediate Punishment Program with the first 30 days on electronic monitoring.He was arrested in the case for assaulting his then-girlfriend at his home. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault.That same 21-year-old woman still has a protection from abuse order against Massella.His record also includes a previous DUI conviction in 2015.
