One Of The Stranger Arrests In PA History
October 26, 2015—LEWISBURG — When it comes to traffic stops, it is hard to prepare oneself for what might take place. A prime example of this would be the incident that took place here in Lewisburg PA in late 2015 and involved a 20-year-old driver, Colby Lee Burke.
Namely, while driving his 2010 Lexus GS350, the 20-year-old nearly collided with a vehicle belonging to the Pennsylvania State Police on October 8th. This took place at Second and Market streets and escalated to a point where the police officers had to use force to complete the arrest.
After almost colliding with the police vehicle, Colby Burke was then seen dancing in the sunroof of his Lexus while driving down the borough of Lewisburg, PA. Additionally, the report indicates that his vehicle was blaring something that the police noted as very loud homosexual sound effects.
The arresting officers who were patrolling the streets of Lewisburg PA on that day reported that they believed how Colby Burke was under the influence. Absent conclusive testing, their assumption landed at some form of a synthetic drug that altered the driver’s mental state. Later on, however, it seemed that their hypothesis was proven wrong by chemical testing.
The initial near-collision that resulted in the encounter took place at 1:28 P.M. when the driver endeavored an illegal right turn at a red light at the aforementioned street. This is when the Trooper Jason Caccia found himself at the receiving end of the negligence as he had to slam on his breaks to avoid making contact with Burke’s Lexus. Expectedly, however, he immediately pulled over the driver just one block away.
Once the traffic stop began, the trooper requested that Colby Lee Burke provides his driver’s license or registration. This, however, led Burke to drive away after he failed to give either of the two documents. The trooper further stated that the driver ran over a curb as he was pulling away and that his reason for doing so was related to the “trooper taking too long” to finalize the stop. This is when the music and the dancing came back into play, according to the police.
Upon making contact again, Burke was given a field sobriety test that he failed. Once he was unable to complete the test successfully the first time, he declined to do any further testing and was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated (DWI). Once the suspect reached the Milton station, he came into contact with a state police expert on drug recognition. This interaction, however, was accompanied by an aggressive behavior from Burke who was then placed in custody with necessary force from the police officials.
As a consequence of the entire venture, the Trooper Jason Caccia filed multiple offenses at the office of Magisterial District Judge Leo Armbruster against Burke. These include a charge of driving under the influence, disorderly conduct, as well as two traffic violations. The preliminary hearing was scheduled for November 19th. The case, however, did not make it to court as all of the charges were dismissed on November 1, 2017 by the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. Additionally, the chargers would be expunged and all documentation that pertains to the matter was ordered destroyed.
