Posted on 02/14/2004 7:10:48 AM PST by Born Conservative
Nicholas Sando said he was "out of his mind" when he led police on a high-speed chase through several Wyoming Valley communities.
At one point in the pursuit, Exeter Officer Dion Fernandes fired a shot at the stolen Ford Bronco Sando was driving. The bullet shattered a window in the vehicle, but did not hit anyone.
"They tried to shoot me and my girlfriend in the head," Sando said after being led away from his arraignment by police.
He had been asked why he ran from police. But according to the affidavit of probable cause, numerous attempts were made to stop Sando before the shot was fired. He allegedly gave a false name to police and ran several stop signs while trying to avoid apprehension. At one point in the pursuit, Officer Fernandes and Officer Robert Thornton were able to barricade the vehicle in on Sixth Street in West Wyoming.
However, Sando allegedly "rammed" the Bronco into the Exeter patrol car. When Fernandes was exiting his cruiser, Sando allegedly backed up and hit the cruiser again, nearly striking the officer. Police said the Bronco backed up a second time into Thornton's West Pittston cruiser. Thornton sustained minor injuries in the accident.
Sando then aimed the vehicle in Fernandes' direction. According to the affidavit, Fernandes, fearing for his life, yelled, "Stop or I'll shoot!" But Sando allegedly did not stop the vehicle and continued in Fernandes' direction, which prompted the officer to fire a single shot.
After the round was spent, Sando was allegedly able to maneuver his vehicle around Fernandes' cruiser and continued east on Sixth Street. District Attorney David Lupas on Friday said an investigation cleared Fernandes of any wrongdoing.
"An officer is justified in using such force when it is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself or another person," Lupas said in a press release. As for the high-speed pursuit, the suspect later traveled through a makeshift roadblock set up by Jenkins Township Officer Chris Purcell at Susquehanna Avenue and Eighth Street.
Police said Sando turned west on to Eighth Street, but Officer Michael Fuller from Wyoming Borough and Fernandes ran the Bronco off the road and were able to take Sando and a passenger, Bonnie Bednarz (Hopkins), 35, Kingston, into custody.
During an interview with police, Bednarz said Sando admitted he stole the car from an employee at the Tilbury Inn, Route 11, Plymouth Township. Bednarz works at the establishment and Sando was allegedly drinking there while waiting for Bednarz to finish work. Bednarz also told police she told Sando to slow down from Plymouth to Exeter and again while he was allegedly trying to elude authorities.
The woman also told police Sando asked for a beer and a line of cocaine at one point during the chase. After he was taken into custody, Sando refused a blood-alcohol-content exam at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital while being treated for minor injuries sustained in the accident. But police obtained a search warrant for his medical records, which revealed a positive test for cocaine and a BAC of 0.104.
Sando is facing numerous charges, including two counts of aggravated assault, three counts of recklessly endangering another person, resisting arrest, receiving stolen property, possession of a controlled substance, fleeing or attempting to elude police and driving under the influence of alcohol.
There are also numerous summary traffic and vehicle citations pending from the pursuit. He was arraigned before District Justice Joseph Carmody of West Pittston and is incarcerated in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $50,000 bail. Sando is also being held on a parole violation.
Sando's preliminary hearing on the charges before Carmody is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 18 at 10 a.m.
In the middle of a car chase he wanted to drink a beer and snort cocaine?! What a moron. Too bad he didn't earn a Darwin Award -- he sure is Darwin Award material.
Based on what type of establishment the Tilbury Inn is, the female in question who works there is either a bartender (less likely) or a stripper (most likely).
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