Scottdale man charged with DUI, leading police on chase through Unity
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A Scottdale man found himself in the county jail on drunken driving and other charges after state police said they chased his pickup truck through farm fields and along miles of rural roads.
The pursuit involving Joseph T. Demase, 37, began around 5 p.m. Monday along Route 981 near the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity after a trooper ran a registration check on a 2002 Ford Ranger and discovered the driver had his license suspended for driving under the influence, Trooper Trey Parsley reported.
Demase refused to pull over, continued south on Route 981 and then drove on several back roads in the Haines Road area, Parsley said. Demase also attempted to lose troopers by driving through several farm fields, “damaging the grounds and crops,” the trooper noted.
At one point, Parsley reported losing sight of the truck after Demase entered a farm field, but other responding troopers picked up the chase near Marguerite Road when he reentered the highway. During portions of the chase, troopers noticed Demase, “throw an empty case of beer out his window,” according to court documents.
Parsley reported that, during some of the pursuit, speeds topped 70 mph, or more than double “the clearly posted 35 mph speed limit.”
Troopers eventually used a traffic maneuver to stop Demase when he attempted to turn from Marguerite Road onto Route 130 near Pleasant Unity.
“Demase showed several signs of heavy impairment” when he was taken into custody and smelled of alcohol, Parsley said.
Online dockets indicate Demase has DUI convictions in both Washington and Westmoreland counties.
He was arraigned before senior District Judge Roger Eckels on multiple criminal and traffic charges, including driving under the influence of alcohol, fleeing and eluding, careless driving, illegally operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and forging documents.
Eckels ordered Demase be held in the Westmoreland County Prison on $25,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Dec. 9 before Unity District Judge Michael Mahady.