Pottstown man faces jail for resisting arrest
A man who disrupted traffic and resisted police as they attempted to arrest him is headed to jail.
NORRISTOWN » A Pottstown man who disrupted traffic and resisted police as they attempted to arrest him for disorderly conduct is now headed to jail.
Wilson Perez Jr., 31, of the 700 block of Farmington Avenue, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to six to 23 months in the county jail, to be followed by two years’ probation, after he pleaded guilty to charges of resisting arrest, possessing a controlled or counterfeit substance, public drunkenness and disorderly conduct in connection with a March 2017 incident in the borough. The sentence means Perez will be under court supervision for about four years.
Judge Steven T. O’Neill ordered that Perez be placed under substance abuse disorder supervision during his parole and probationary period. That means Perez will be tested for drug usage randomly and frequently and will be detained if he tests positive for using controlled substances.
The judge said Perez is eligible for the jail’s work release program during his incarceration.
An investigation began about 6:11 p.m. March 5, 2017, when borough police observed Perez in the area of High and Washington streets disrupting traffic by standing in the middle of the roadway, according to a criminal complaint. Police alleged Perez walked in front of one vehicle, forcing it to stop and then tried to open the driver’s side door of the vehicle.
When police approached Perez they smelled “a strong odor coming from him that smelled like embalming fluid,” according to the criminal complaint filed by Pottstown Police Officer Ronald Taylor.
“He had an incoherent look in his eyes also,” Taylor alleged, adding Perez became aggressive and lunged at police as they attempted to detain him. “The defendant stepped toward me again and I fired my Taser at him.”
When Perez was transported to borough hall police found him possessing a cigarette pack that contained “a full cigarette dipped in embalming fluid which had a strong odor,” according to the arrest affidavit.
According to court papers, Perez pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a controlled or counterfeit substance, specifically marijuana and/or PCP.