Police say drunk Unity man tried to steal cop car after crash in Oklahoma Borough with off-duty officer
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State police said a Unity man was drunk when he wrecked into an off-duty police officer in Oklahoma Borough and then tried to escape by stealing a police cruiser.
Richard Allen Wilden, 32, of the 900 block of Rolling Meadows Drive was charged with a felony count of attempted theft along with misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, institutional vandalism and driving under the influence. He also was issued five traffic citations.
Wilden was being detained in the Westmoreland County jail in lieu of a $25,000 cash bond. A preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec is scheduled for Dec. 27, according to court records.
A state trooper wrote in a criminal complaint that shortly before 1 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 18 he was dispatched to investigate a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Orr Avenue and Route 66 that involved an off-duty police officer and a man who was intoxicated.
When the state trooper arrived, Wilden was staggering as he argued with police officers from Kiski and Washington townships who responded to the scene, the complaint said.
During questioning, Wilden admitted to the trooper that he was drinking, telling him: “I know I screwed up,” the complaint said.
But when he realized that he was speaking to a state trooper, Wilden uttered an expletive and said: “I’m on parole, I ain’t talking to you, and you can deal with my parents,” according to his arrest papers.
Wilden was handcuffed when he tried to walk away and refused to undergo a field sobriety check, according to police.
In October 2010, he pleaded guilty to two felony counts of robbery and a felony count of attempted burglary along with five related misdemeanor charges filed by Plum police, according to an online search of Wilden’s criminal history.
He was sentenced to three to six years in prison and five years of probation, court records show.
The off-duty police officer involved in the wreck, who was not identified in court papers, told the trooper that he was about to turn left onto Route 66 from Orr Avenue when a silver BMW crossed the center lane at a high-rate of speed and crashed into him head-on.
Wilden was trapped in his car. He was helped out of the wreckage by the off-duty officer, who told the trooper he smelled a strong odor of alcohol on the other driver, later identified as Wilden.
Investigators said Wilden was placed in the back of a police cruiser in handcuffs but tried to escape by crawling into the driver’s seat of the running car.
An officer was standing outside the cruiser when he heard the vehicle accelerate as Wilden hit the gas pedal with his foot, the complaint said.
When the officer opened the driver door he found Wilden trying to put the gear shift into drive with his chin, the complaint said.
He struggled with officers as they pulled him from the vehicle and placed him in shackles, police said.
The trooper said Wilden refused to have blood drawn after being taken to the Kiski station.
While his arrest papers were being prepared Wilden began spitting, intentionally urinated himself and threw a trash can at the trooper, the complaint said.