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After running a red traffic light at Third and Market streets in the city about 2 a.m. on April 14, Devin Thompson, 34, of Altoona, was pulled over by state police, according to an affidavit. A trooper detected an odor of marijuana inside the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Thompson, who admitted he smoked marijuana about "four hours ago," showed signs of impairment while performing field sobriety tests, the affidavit stated. He refused to submit a blood sample. Charged with DUI of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, driving with a suspended license and one other summary, Thompson is free on bail following his preliminary hearing. This was his second DUI arrest, police said.
A passenger in the Jeep, Andrea Pasqualone, 33, also of Altoona, was charged with possession of a controlled substance after she admitted that in her purse were three containers of marijuana that a trooper seized, court records stated. Thompson claimed the marijuana was his, police said. She too is free on bail.
In another case, a blood test revealed that Victoria Marie Sipes, 22, of 653 Sixth Ave., had cocaine and marijuana in her system when she hit a parked vehicle and plowed through a garage in the 500 block of Church Alley in Montoursville while driving a 2017 Buick Encore about 4 a.m. on Dec. 20, according to borough police. At the crash scene, Sipes said she was "having some type of mechanical problem" with her car, police said. Charged with DUI of a controlled substance and one summary offense, Sipes has waived her preliminary hearing and is free on $5,000 bail.
In another case, truck driver Yonas Fishatsion, 28, of Garland, Texas, was suspected of being "under the influence of a controlled substance or a combination of controlled substances when he was stopped by state police on Interstate 180 in the city about 9:30 a.m. on March 14, according to an affidavit. He was stopped because he had traveled at least six miles on the interstate at 35 mph without using his four-way flashers, police said. "There was a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from inside the vehicle, and Fishatsion's eyes were bloodshot and watery," the affidavit stated. He also showed signs of impairment during field sobriety tests, police said. Charged with DUI and a summary violation, he has been held for court and is free on bail. Court records made no mention of whether Fishatsion submitted a blood sample or refused.
In another case, Shawna E. Mensinger, 50, of 385 Heilman Circle, Montgomery, had a BAC of .19 when she crashed her 2012 Ford Focus into a concrete retaining wall in the 1500 block of Brouse Road in Clinton Township about 9 p.m. on Jan. 9, state police said in an affidavit. Township firefighters were the first on the scene. Mensinger was not hurt, police said. When the firemen, it was clear to them that she was "visibly intoxicated," court records stated. When they asked her to spell her last name, she spelled it "with numbers," police were told. Charged with DUI and one summary offense, Mensinger has waived her preliminary hearing and is free on bail.
In another case, while traveling east in the 500 block of West Fourth Street, which is one way westbound, Thomas Michael Wright nearly struck a city police cruiser head-on with his 2006 Ford Escape about 6:45 p.m. on April 1, according to an affidavit. Moments earlier, another motorist was forced to swerve out of his way, police said. Wright, 59, of 107 O'Neil Ave., apartment 1, was immediately stopped by the officer whose cruiser he nearly hit. "He had slurred speech and the smell of an alcoholic beverage was coming from him," the officer wrote in the court document. Wright admitted he had "been drinking wine at his home prior" to getting behind the wheel of his car, police said. During field sobriety tests, he displayed "multiple implications of impairment," police said, Charged with DUI and one summary violation, Wright, who had a BAC of .18, has been sent a summons to appear before a district judge.