Judge dismisses drunk driving charges against Centre County man for lack of evidence
Centre County prosecutors did not have enough evidence to move forward with charges against a Howard man who had been accused of drunken driving, a district judge ruled Wednesday.
Brandon Deitz, 37, saw a misdemeanor DUI charge and four summary traffic violations dismissed by District Judge Allen Sinclair after a preliminary hearing.
Deitz was stopped by state police at Rockview in May near the intersection of Howard Divide Road and Cantolina Lane. It happened less than a week after he was released from the Centre County Correctional Facility after serving about three months in jail for causing a deadly 2020 crash in downtown Bellefonte.
When he was stopped in May, one of his pickup’s brake lights was not working and his vehicle’s registration was expired, police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
He was not stopped because of poor driving, Centre County First Assistant Public Defender Lora Rupert said. Deitz, officers wrote, showed several signs of impairment and failed field sobriety tests.
He refused a blood test and a drug influence evaluation. That left officers with no evidence other than their suspicion that Deitz was under the influence, Rupert said.
Sinclair, Rupert said, “made the right decision in dismissing the charges.” A voicemail was left with Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna.
In December, Deitz pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor in the death of Stephanie Wilson, a 36-year-old he hit with a 2007 Dodge Ram pickup truck during a morning rush hour.
He was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and was not accused of driving recklessly. A state police investigator estimated Deitz was driving about 22 mph — within the speed limit — when he hit Wilson.
He stopped almost immediately, but fled before calling for help because he was “scared and nervous,” police wrote in a separate affidavit of probable cause. A woman called police on his behalf less than 10 minutes after the crash.
Deitz offered a tearful apology before being sentenced, saying, “If I could take it back, it would be me instead of her.” He was sentenced to 90 days to one year in jail, followed by two years of probation.
This story was originally published June 16, 2022 at 6:00 AM.