Case dismissed in cop car ramming incident
BUTLER TWP — Charges against a man suspected of ramming a trooper's cruiser during a police chase were dismissed Thursday when the investigating officer did not show up in court for a preliminary hearing.
Prosecutors, however, said they planned to have the charges refiled. And by the end of the day, police had prepared a new criminal complaint.
Police were hoping to have an arrest warrant for David R. Coleman, 50, of Butler Township in hand “first thing (this morning),” said Cpl. Tim Morando.
But until then, Coleman remains a suddenly free man.
He was released from Butler County Prison about 12:30 p.m., an hour or so after District Judge Kevin O'Donnell agreed to dismiss his case at the request of county public defender Joseph Smith.
Coleman had been behind bars on $100,000 bail since his arrest March 30 for the alleged chase that resulted in 16 charges — three of them felonies.
Read more about this case in Friday's Butler Eagle.
