Fayette judge throws out evidence in DUI case
Evidence of driving under the influence of alcohol garnered from a state police traffic stop was thrown out in Fayette County Court after Judge John F. Wagner Jr. ruled that the trooper had no reason to stop the driver. Benjamin R. Solo, a 20-year-old Penn State student, was stopped by trooper Robert Mertz last Nov. 30 after he and some friends drove down a dirt road in Menallen Township when they spotted headlights about 300 yards away.
Solo’s attorney, Thomas W. Shaffer, said he argued in court that Mertz did not have reasonable suspicion to stop his client because there were no apparent violations that deemed a stop appropriate. Wagner agreed, and ruled the stop was illegal, making any evidence that arose from it couldn’t be used in court.
The stop occurred about one-quarter of a mile after Solo’s car and another vehicle that was stopped with it turned off Scott Road onto Stoney Point Road, according to court documents.
Inside the vehicle, Mertz saw two bottles of beer and subsequently took Solo to the Uniontown Hospital, where blood was drawn. The test showed that Solo had a blood-alcohol content of .03 percent, slightly above the allowable .02 percent for drivers under 21 in Pennsylvania.
Filed last week in the Fayette County Clerk of Court’s office, Wagner’s opinion said that Mertz needed a reason to pull the vehicle over – other than the knowledge that Scott Road was a place juveniles often went to drink.
“The trooper had no indications that illegal activity was taking place and testified that the only reason he stopped the defendant was that the cars were parked in an area known for juvenile drinking and mischievous activities,” wrote Wagner.
Shaffer said he argued that if the trooper were allowed to pull over people who drove in a bad area, it would open a Pandora’s box for traffic stops.
“It would be no different than individuals getting together at lunch, running through an area suspected of crime,” said Shaffer, referring to the regular lunchtime runs that Wagner and other county professionals take.
“They could be punished for going through the wrong part of town.”
Shaffer said the Solo stop is akin to the running group going through a high-crime area in Uniontown and being stopped by police for merely being there.
“(Being in a bad area) simply is not enough,” said Shaffer, who said he used the running argument with Wagner.
He also noted that his client maintains that the group did not know it was a trooper when they drove away. They could only see headlights about 300 yards away, said Shaffer.
With the blood test suppressed, prosecutors have little or no evidence to prove in court that Solo was indeed under the influence, said Shaffer.
However, there have been no documents filed in court that indicated the charges would be dropped.