Police Briefs, 10/28/09

DUI in Athens Borough

Terry Richard Satterly Jr., 26, of Athens, faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance and careless driving in connection with an incident occurring at around 1:32 a.m. on Aug. 5 on North Elmira Street in Athens Borough, according to court documents filed at Magisterial District Judge Michael Shaw's office.

According to an affidavit:

Police responded at the above date and time to a motor vehicle accident on North Elmira Street wherein a vehicle had struck a pole near Longway Street. The driver, Satterly, was found to be self-extricated and examining his vehicle. Police said they did not notice an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Satterly's person, but that Satterly appeared very hyper. Satterly allegedly stated to police that he had taken Oxycodone approximately 24 hours before the accident.

Field sobriety tests were administered to Satterly, which he failed. Satterly was then taken to Robert Packer Hospital for a chemical test of blood, which indicated that Satterly's BAC was 0 percent, and a drug test indicated that Satterly was under the influence of Morphine.

A preliminary hearing has been set for Nov. 24 for Satterly to answer to the charges.

Athens man charged with DUI

Andrew R. Fokas, 55, of Athens, faces several charges, including driving under the influence of alcohol, driving while operating privilege is suspended or revoked, and careless driving, in connection with an incident occurring at around 12:41 a.m. on Sept. 4 on Cove Street in Athens Borough, according to court documents filed at Magisterial District Judge Michael Shaw's office.

According to an affidavit:

At the above date and time, police observed a Ford minivan weaving from left to right in its travel lane, striking a curb, and turning without signaling. A traffic stop was initiated and the driver was found to be Fokas. Fokas' eyes appeared glassy and his speech was slurred, police said.

Police attempted to explain a series of field sobriety tests to Fokas however he was not able to stand in that he could not maintain his balance. Fokas was then taken into custody.

Fokas was advised of the implied consent warning and was requested to submit to a chemical test of blood. Fokas stated that he was willing to take the test, police said, but upon arrival at Robert Packer Hospital Fokas stated that he was not going to cooperate and refused to submit to the test. Upon further investigation, Fokas was found to have a suspended driver's license related to previous DUI offenses.

A preliminary hearing has been set for Nov. 24 for Fokas to answer the charges.

Two charged in theft

Joshua Daniel Vanderpool, 18, of Sayre, and Brian Scott Johnson Jr., 19, of Athens, face multiple charges, including criminal conspiracy, theft from a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property and loitering at nighttime, in connection with an incident that occurred at around 11:48 p.m. on Oct. 22 in Athens Township, according to court documents filed at Magisterial District Judge Michael Shaw's office.

Vanderpool and Johnson are accused of conspiring with others, namely Donald Pazunas and two juvenile males, to check for unlocked vehicles in the area of Chelsea Trailer Park with the intent to remove items from within, according to the documents. Vanderpool and Johnson are accused of entering separate vehicles and removing currency from the vehicles, the documents stated.

Johnson is accused of intentionally receiving, retaining or disposing of currency in the amount of $7.94 belonging to Donna Schoonmaker, while Vanderpool is accused of intentionally receiving, retaining or disposing of currency in the amount of $3.05 belonging to Jeremy Wilson, according to the documents.

Canton woman accused of possessing hypodermic needles

Megan Nicole Winebarger, 21, of Canton is accused of possessing five hypodermic needles for injecting heroin, police said.

State police said they responded to a disturbance at Memorial Hospital in Towanda at approximately 9:45 p.m. on Oct. 21. The police said that after they made contact with Winebarger at the hospital, they searched her purse and bag for their own safety.

They said they found the needles, located in a separate bag, in Winebarger's purse.

Winebarger has been charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the state police at Towanda.

Winebarger, who lives at 60 Montague St., was arraigned by Towanda Magisterial District Judge Timothy Clark on Oct. 21. She was then released on $2,500 bail.

Sign up for Text Alerts

Sign up for e-mail newsletters