Martin Dartoe outside the Luzerne County Courthouse Friday afternoon. Jennifer Learn-Andes | Times Leader
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WILKES-BARRE — After Martin Dartoe was sentenced to five years special probation with the first 15 months on house arrest with electronic monitoring for a drunken driving conviction, he took part in a public protest outside the Luzerne County Courthouse.
Dartoe, 33, of North River Street, Wilkes-Barre, failed to appear on time for his sentencing hearing before Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr. on Friday.
His lawyer, John Donovan, claimed Dartoe was at a hospital in Scranton for a medical test.
Dartoe eventually arrived two hours late when Sklarosky sentenced him to the county’s Intermediate Punishment Program for five years for drunken driving and driving with a suspended license.
Sklarosky ordered Dartoe to serve the first 15 months on house arrest with electronic monitoring, perform 30 hours of community service, levied a $1,000 fine and a $25 fine for driving a vehicle without headlights at night.
Defendants are instructed by judges to immediately contact the county’s Adult Probation Office after they leave the courtroom, and are given instructions with the probation office’s phone number and address.
Dartoe could not be reached for comment Monday.
House arrest with electronic monitoring utilizes a phone device.
It could not be learned if Dartoe’s house arrest began immediately Friday.
Ann Marie Braskey, interim director of probation services, could not be reached Monday.
Dartoe, who was unsuccessful at campaigning for a county council seat, pleaded guilty to the drunken driving offenses June 21, 2021, according to court records.
Wilkes-Barre police charged Dartoe with drunken driving following a traffic stop for driving a vehicle without headlights in the area of Grove and Stanton streets at about 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2019, court records say.
Court records say Dartoe displayed red glossy eyes and had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath. He refused to submit to a chemical breath test, according to court records.