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WILKES-BARRE — Nearly two months after being sentenced for his third drunken driving offense, a Wilkes-Barre man was arraigned Monday on allegations of driving a vehicle while intoxicated.
Pennsylvania State Police at Wilkes-Barre conducting patrols in Wilkes-Barre City spotted a 2011 Jeep Liberty driving at a high rate of speed in the area of Rees and South Sherman streets just after 8 p.m. Sunday.
The driver of the Jeep, identified in court records as Niecco Louis Dalessandro, 32, continued to accelerate and turned onto South Grant Street where he struck a curb when he stopped, according to court records.
Court records say Dalessandro exited the Jeep and was instructed by a trooper to return to the vehicle.
The trooper detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Dalessandro’s breath, court records say.
When asked how many drinks he consumed, Dalessandro allegedly replied, “a little bit” and used another name to identify himself.
As the trooper was processing information, Dalessandro exited the Jeep a second time and was instructed again to return to the vehicle.
Dalessandro climbed out the front passenger window and fled the traffic stop, initiating a search in the area.
A Wilkes-Barre police officer detained Dalessandro in the 300 block of East South Street.
After being transported to the State Police Wilkes-Barre barracks, Dalessandro submitted to a breath test that revealed an alcohol level of 0.146 percent, court records say.
Dalessandro allegedly initiated a struggle inside the barracks, kicked a trooper in the leg and spat on the floor.
Dalessandro was arraigned by District Judge Rick Cronauer of Wilkes-Barre on charges of aggravated assault, institutional vandalism, flight to avoid apprehension, false identification to law enforcement, evading arrest, driving under the influence and four traffic citations. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $10,000 bail.
Court records say Dalessandro was sentenced in Luzerne County Court on Feb. 1 to two years probation on a third drunken driving conviction within a decade.