Indiana Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Blog

Although probably much harder to do even one generation ago, people in Pennsylvania, including college students in the Indiana area, are able to take all kinds of videos of the scenes the encounter. All they have to do is pull out their phones.

Many young people have used these opportunities to take videos of the police making arrests or otherwise having encounters with citizens. Not surprisingly, some of these encounters are confrontational or even hostile.

In a perfect world, everyone would live together in perfect harmony. However, in reality, conflict occurs between family members, co-workers, random strangers, friends and neighbors. While conflict is natural and relatively commonplace, violence as a result is not. Unfortunately, police in Pennsylvania have recently arrested a man and charged him with assault.

The incident happened on a day in August. The alleged victim was reportedly involved in some sort of dispute at a private residence -- an interaction that reports describe as a "physical altercation." Details of this dispute are unclear. Afterward another person at the residence (though apparently not the one involved in the original dispute) is said to have fired two shots into the front seat the of victim's vehicle.

There are numerous reasons that a Pennsylvania police officer might decide to take someone into custody following a motor vehicle accident. If the officer suspects a motorist of drunk driving, it can definitely lead to a trip to the county jail, although it does not necessarily mean that is where the person will stay. Sometimes, as in a situation that recently occurred in Cherry Creek, a defendant will be released from jail with a notice to appear in court at a later date. 

The man in this particular case is age 37. He was reportedly driving along Route 83 just before 6:30 p.m. on a recent Sunday when his vehicle veered off the road. Police who arrived on site said the man's car was stuck in a ditch when they got there.  

Most of us are familiar with field sobriety tests - the image of an intoxicated person touching their fingers to their nose can be found in popular movies and television shows. However, many people are unsure what to do if they find themselves on the side of the road reciting the ABCs backwards.

If you are pulled over for driving under the influence, it would help to know how these tests work and your rights during field testing.