New Kensington police charge lawyer from Murrysville with DUI, fleeing from traffic stop
Share this post:
A lawyer from Murrysville is accused by New Kensington police of driving while intoxicated and leading them on a high-speed chase when they tried to pull him over.
Robert Dishington Monsour, 69, of Saltsburg Road, waived his right to a preliminary hearing before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. and was ordered to stand trial in connection with the Oct. 27 incident. He was released from jail after posting a $10,000 unsecured bond, according to court records. The charges were filed on Dec. 22, records show.
Monsour faces formal arraignment on the charges in Westmoreland County Court on March 16.
He is charged with a felony count of fleeing from police and misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest. He also was issued five traffic citations that include driving the wrong way on a roadway, according to the criminal complaint filed for the case.
A New Kensington police officer responding to a call for a grey Mercedes Benz driving erratically along Greensburg Road located the vehicle stopped at a red traffic signal at the intersection of Greensburg Road and Stevenson Boulevard, the complaint said.
Police said the car failed to move after the light turned green and the man driving appeared to be passed out behind the wheel with his foot on the brake, according to the complaint.
The doors were locked and the driver only responded after two officers began knocking on the car’s windows and announced their presence, the complaint said.
Police said Monsour refused commands to get out of the vehicle and instead drove off “at a high rate of speed.”
Three New Kensington police cruisers pursued the vehicle along Industrial Boulevard, Hileman Drive and Fifth Avenue until it stopped after turning onto Drey Street, the complaint said.
Investigators said Monsour was going the wrong way while on Hileman and Fifth and struck two Arnold police vehicles that joined the chase.
Monsour had to be forcefully removed from the vehicle and was taken to Allegheny Valley Hospital to be treated for injuries he suffered whiles scuffling with the arresting officers, the complaint said.
An officer who accompanied Monsour in the back of the ambulance said he heard Monsour tell emergency medical technicians that he “had too much to drink, and a couple of shots,” the arrest papers said.
Monsour agreed to have blood drawn while at the hospital so it could be tested for the presence of alcohol or drugs by the state police crime lab in Greensburg, the complaint said.
Lab results showed that his blood alcohol level was 0.21% when he was arrested, which is more than twice the legal limit, the complaint said.
Monsour’s lawyer, Duke George of New Kensington, said he is awaiting more information about the case before commenting.
“It’s in the embryonic stage,” George said. “We’ll be in a better position to decide how to proceed once more information is provided during the discovery phase.”