Trial begins today for Uniontown man accused of fleeing from police
The trial of a Uniontown man accused of fleeing from police will begin this morning in Fayette County Court. Assistant District Attorney Mark Mehalov will begin presenting testimony today from the police officer who gave chase and ultimately fired at John B. Smith when he allegedly fled last Aug. 8 and then tried to hit Uniontown police officer David Rutter.
Smith, 31, of 63 Pershing Court, is charged with aggravated and simple assault, reckless endangerment and fleeing and eluding police. He allegedly drove away from Rutter when he tried to pull over the van Smith was driving.
According to court records, Smith drove the van from Bailey Avenue along North Gallatin Avenue, onto Route 119 and eventually to Hill Street in Mount Braddock, where he hit a dead end and stopped.
When Rutter got out of his marked police car and ordered Smith from the van, Smith allegedly backed up toward Rutter, nearly hitting him. Rutter fired four times at the van, and Smith reportedly crashed the van into a pine tree before he surrendered. The shots injured no one.
State police trooper Thomas Broadwater filed charges in the case and indicated that there were two women in the van along with Smith.
Those women were identified as Anna Marie Marks and Lakisha Monique Norman, both of Cleveland, Ohio.
Marks told police that she pleaded with Smith to stop, but he would not. She jumped out of the van after it stopped, said police.
Norman told police that she and Smith were having sex before he started driving away from police. She was sitting in the passenger seat during the chase, according to court records.
Both Norman and Smith told police they were up all night smoking marijuana and “water,” a PSP-formaldehyde combination.
Smith also told police he was afraid to get out of the van at Bailey Street because he feared the officer might have been Detective Phillip W. Jones. Smith told police he was afraid of Jones.
Court records also indicate that Smith told police he saw Rutter when he was backing up and did not try to hit him.
Assistant Public Defender Mary Campbell Spegar, who represents Smith, told the jurors they would hear “very interesting testimony” during the case.
Judge Ralph C. Warman is presiding over the trial.