Summit Academy escapee receives probation, fine
A Bedford County man charged with escaping from Summit Academy was sentenced to probation in Butler County Court on Thursday.
Donald J. Chrisko, 19, of New Paris, was sentenced to 18 months probation by Judge Timothy of McCune.
He was also ordered to pay court costs, $150 in fines, $924.76 in restitution and complete 50 hours of community service. McCune also allowed Chrisko's probation to be transferred to his home county of Bedford.
Chrisko pleaded guilty in two cases to misdemeanor escape and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle on Oct. 18.
He was initially charged with felony theft, conspiracy to commit theft, misdemeanor unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and escape in the two cases.
State police filed the charges after Chrisko and two 15-year-old boys escaped from the school on Herman Road in Summit Township on Feb. 19.
One of the runaways, a 15-year-old boy from Masontown, Fayette County, was chased down. But Chrisko and the other student, of Newport, Perry County, got away from the school for adjudicated youths and young adults in grades nine to 12.
At Feb. 20, a homeowner on Beck Road — one to two miles from the school — discovered his Jeep Grand Cherokee missing. The owner last saw the vehicle about 9:30 p.m. the day before. The victim said that he had left the keys in the unlocked vehicle.
Police said Chrisko and the boy stole the vehicle and drove halfway across the state. It was recovered on Feb. 21 at a home in Perry County.
State police in Perry County subsequently arrested the boy who escaped with Chrisko when they saw him come out of the house, documents said.
Police said the boy admitted driving the vehicle to the home in Perry County and that Chrisko was with him earlier but he no longer knew where he was.
Chrisko was later arrested in March.
He was held in the Butler County Prison on a combined $110,000 bail, which was later reduced to $35,000, and posted in June.
