Jail time for brawl, DUI crash
Darius Cheseroni, 43, also will serve probation after pleading guilty in 2 cases
A 43-year-old man arrested last August after a prodigious brawl with Towamencin cops in a field outside North Penn High School just weeks after another Towamencin patrol officer pulled him from a burning car following a DUI-related, single-vehicle crash was sentenced to jail time and probation after entering guilty pleas in both cases, according to court records.
Darius David Cheseroni, of the 100 block of Finch Way, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County court to two counts of seconddegree misdemeanor resisting arrest in connection with the Aug. 25 fight in a plea deal in which multiple counts of felony aggravated assault and numerous
other charges were withdrawn; and pleaded guilty
one count of first-degree misdemeanor driving under the influence in connection with the Aug. 3 crash, records show.
Cheseroni was sentenced to 138 days to 23 months of
confinement, to be followed by two years of probation, on the resisting arrest conviction, and 138 days to 5 years on the DUI conviction, records indicate.
According to an affidavit
of probable cause, Towamencin cops responded to a report of a loud crash near the 600 block of Troxel Road around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 3 and spotted a white SUV that had crashed
through a guard rail and traveled down an embankment, ending up part of the way into a creek.
Seeing flames coming from the front of the vehicle, an officer rushed toward the SUV and saw a man passed out in the driver’s seat, the affidavit indicates — after the cop screamed at him, the man woke up but couldn’t get out of the vehicle, so the officer pulled him out through the driver’s side window and dragged him up the hill because he was unable to walk on his own.
Once they were a safe distance away from the burning vehicle, the man identified himself to police as Cheseroni, and cops observed that Cheseroni smelled like he had been drinking alcohol and showed various signs of intoxication, court documents state.
Cheseroni was then transported to an area hospital, where he consented to have his blood drawn for chemical testing, police said.
Lab results later indicated that Cheseroni’s blood alcohol concentration approximately an hour after his rescue was .296 percent, and that he also had marijuana in his system.
On Aug. 25, shortly after 10 p.m., two Towamencin cops were dispatched to a grassy area along Sumneytown Pike on the grounds of North Penn High School due to a report of a man lying in the field.
As officers approached the man, he started to get up and cops recognized him as Cheseroni, according to a criminal complaint.
Cheseroni reeked of alcohol, his eyes were glazed over, he had a distant stare and appeared oblivious to the presence of police, leading cops to surmise that he was under the influence of alcohol and/or other substances, the complaint states.
Police said Cheseroni became enraged when cops told him that he wasn’t under arrest but that they wanted to pat him down for weapons since, according to court documents, they were wary of Cheseroni from previous encounters with him and were concerned that he might be armed.
Cheseroni began to fight with the officers, and attempts by both officers to subdue him with their Tasers proved fruitless as Cheseroni charged one officer and punched him in the face, then kicked both cops after they took him to the ground, according to the complaint.
Other Towamencin police, as well as cops from the Lansdale and Upper Gwynedd police departments, rushed to the scene and helped get Cheseroni into custody.
One Towamencin officer sustained lacerations to his face as a result of Cheseroni’s punch, as well as abrasions to his hand, while the other officer suffered contusions to his elbow during the fight, according to court documents.
The cop who rescued Cheseroni from the burning vehicle was not involved in that incident.
Cheseroni, who has been released from jail, records indicated Monday, has been ordered by a judge to attend anger management counseling and safe driving school. He’s also been assessed more than $7,500 in fines and court costs.