Pennsylvania Man Gives Alcohol to Amish Kids Then Rear-Ended by Buggy

Posted in Furnishing Alcohol to Minors,General on July 12, 2016

I would say that this could only happen in Pennsylvania, but there are actually Amish communities in many states across the United States. It just so happens that the Lancaster area may be the most famous area associated with Amish, and this case happened to occur in Lancaster County. While I do not believe that young Amish adults are as involved in criminal activity as portrayed by the television show Amish Mafia, many young adults do make bad decisions. According to an online article on fox43.com, a few young Amish men were in the parking lot of a Turkey Hill convenience store when a 25-year-old man pulled in and decided to impress the young men by showing them his pistol and by giving them some Yuengling Lager beer. The entire group then left the parking lot, the man in his car and the young Amish men in their buggy. The man later passed the buggy, and, according the article, it sounds as if the man abruptly stopped his car and was then rear-ended by the horse and buggy.

Drunk Driving Charge Filed

At some point, the police became involved. The man was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence, and testing showed that his blood alcohol level was a .124%. After pleading guilty to the drunk driving charge, the Lancaster County judge sentenced the man to 30 days to 6 months, which would be the mandatory minimum sentence for a second offense of DUI with that blood alcohol level. Aside from the DUI charge, the man also pleaded guilty to Furnishing Alcohol to Minors for giving beer to the Amish boys. The sentence for the Furnishing charge would have included a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000.00 for the first violation and a $2,500.00 fine for every subsequent violation.

Underage and Drunk Driving in Pennsylvania

The article did not state whether or not the young Amish men were investigated for suspicion of DUI. Some people probably wonder how a person could be charged with driving under the influence for riding in a horse drawn buggy. The Pennsylvania DUI law prohibits a person from driving a “vehicle” on a roadway with a specified level of alcohol in the person’s system. A vehicle is defined as a “device upon which any person may be transported,” so there is no requirement that vehicle contain a motor. A person can be charged with a DUI for riding a bike under the influence or driving a buggy while under the influence.

If the young men were under 21, which they must have been in order for the other man to be charged with Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor, then they could have been charged with driving under the influence if their blood alcohol level was above a .02%. They could also have been charged with Underage Drinking under 18 Pa.C.S. § 6308. Convictions on the summary Underage charge and misdemeanor DUI would carry license suspensions, fines, and possibly even jail time. If the kids had not been in trouble before, they probably would be eligible to participate in a first-time offender program in Pennsylvania known as ARD. ARD is a program that imposes a punishment, through community service, license suspensions, and payment of costs, in exchange for a dismissal of the charge. The dismissed charge can then be expunged from the government’s records.

Lancaster County DUI Lawyer

While the man driving the car made a few bad decisions that night in getting behind the wheel after drinking and by giving beer to minors, hopefully he made a good, sober decision to hire an experienced Lancaster County DUI lawyer like Steven Breit. Steven is a fellow board member of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and is well respected amongst criminal defense lawyers because of the expertise that he provides to his clients in obtaining the best possible results. Anyone charged with a criminal offense should consult with an experienced defense attorney.