CLEARFIELD – A Clearfield man pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child for driving under the influence with his child in his vehicle.
Jeffrey Lee Thorp, 46, an inmate of the jail, also pleaded guilty to DUI, escape and driving under suspension-DUI related.
He was sentenced to 15 months to two years in jail and two years consecutive probation.
Judge Paul E. Cherry warned him that if he came back to court, he would get a state sentence. He added that Thorp needed counseling for his alcohol problem. He was fined $3,800 plus costs.
Thorp violated his probation on a previous DUI by consuming alcohol and committing this crime. His probation was revoked and Cherry sentenced him to a concurrent period of 30 days to one year in jail and one year consecutive probation.
The charges stem from an incident on Jan. 31 in Clearfield Borough. According to the affidavit of probable cause, an officer was observing traffic on Park Avenue when he saw Thorp operating a white vehicle and traveling west. The officer knew Thorp had a suspended driver’s license due to a prior DUI.
The officer stopped the vehicle at the Choice store on South Second Street. When he made contact with Thorp he could detect an odor of an alcoholic beverage. He asked Thorp if he had been consuming alcohol and he replied yes, admitting he had three beers.
He said he was driving because he had to drop his child off. The mother wouldn’t come and get him, he said.
Thorp was told to exit the vehicle and he was taken into custody. He consented to a chemical blood test and was taken to Penn Highlands Clearfield where his blood was drawn.
As they left the hospital, Thorp asked if he could chew some snuff. Thorp had been cooperative at that point so the officer allowed him to do this.
But when the officer asked Thorp to stand next to the vehicle so he could put his restraints back on, Thorp walked toward the front of the patrol vehicle. Thorp was given a command to stop. He stopped briefly before the officer tried to put a cuff on his right wrist. Then Thorp pulled away and started running. Another officer was able to take him to the ground.
Thorp was non-compliant and unwilling to put his hands behind his back. One of the officers applied a pain compliance technique, which succeeded in getting Thorp to comply. He was placed in cuffs and transported to the jail.
The blood test results showed that Thorp’s blood alcohol content was 0.243 percent. The legal level of intoxication in Pennsylvania is 0.08 percent.