CLEARFIELD – A DuBois man pleaded guilty but mentally ill, in seven separate cases Tuesday during plea and sentencing court.
Stephen Delbert Pardee, 45, was sentenced by President Judge Paul E. Cherry to serve a total of 32 months to 13 years in state prison for felony fleeing from police, recklessly endangering another person, obstructing the administration of law, driving under the influence and criminal mischief in one case: misdemeanor person not to possess firearm and disorderly conduct in the second: misdemeanor defiant trespass in a third case, misdemeanor criminal mischief and criminal trespass in the fourth: misdemeanor possession of small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the fifth: and misdemeanor receiving stolen property in two additional cases.
Pardee was ordered to pay over $44,000 in restitution.
Cherry noted that Pardee is not severely mentally disabled and is not to be sent to Torrance State Hospital. He has a mental health/disability that requires an appropriate mental health program, he said.
The charges cover a period of time beginning in Nov. 2022 and ending in March 2025.
According to the affidavit in the fleeing case, police spotted a vehicle driven by Pardee on March 26, 2025. A search of his name uncovered the fact that his license was expired and he had several warrants for his arrest in Clearfield County.
A traffic stop was initiated, and Pardee hesitated but pulled over. As an officer approached the vehicle, Pardee fled the scene, traveling at high rates of speed before turning onto a private dirt trail. Eventually a trooper initiated at PIT maneuver, causing the vehicle to turn around.
It accelerated and collided head on with a state patrol unit causing disabling damage and suspected injury to the trooper. The chase continued until he turned onto a private property lane, colliding with multiple gates and causing damage to the property. A brief foot pursuit followed, but Pardee was taken into custody.
Police suspected he was under the influence of a controlled substance but Pardee refused to cooperate by submitting to a blood draw.
The firearm charges stem from Nov. 10, 2022 after police received a report of a man in a mask carrying a firearm in Treasure Lake. The vehicle he was driving was later found behind Michael’s at the commons complex.
Pardee was the driver and asked to exit the vehicle. A shotgun was in plain view between the driver and passenger seats.
Pardee claimed he was being followed by two men and wore a mask so they couldn’t identify him. He admitted he had previously been convicted of a felony but argued he was permitted to have a shotgun.
The defiant trespass incident occurred on Nov. 7, 2024 when Pardee was spotted at a business where he had previously been seen going through a dumpster. He was not permitted on the property.
In the criminal trespass and criminal mischief case from Oct. 2024, Pardee entered private property and stabbed the tires and smashed windows on a car parked there.
The receiving stolen property cases involve the possession of four stolen guitars in Jan. 2025, and a stolen laptop in March 2025.
