A Montrose man could spend up to 18 years in state prison for ramming his Jeep into four state troopers during a heroin bust gone sour at the Viewmont Mall.
Cuffed and dressed in a county prison jumpsuit, Joseph Klecha, 26, received a stern lecture from Lackawanna County Judge Vito P. Geroulo on Wednesday before he was sentenced.
If he decided to put up his hands rather than stepping on the gas when troopers surrounded his vehicle in the mall's parking lot, he could be looking at a much shorter stay in prison, the judge said.
"This would be a much different case," Judge Geroulo told him if he "submitted to the authority of the law."
Mr. Klecha first broke the law at the mall that day, Aug. 23, when he bought two bundles of heroin from an undercover trooper for $370.
Soon after the drug buy, troopers surrounded his vehicle to take him into custody.
When they opened the vehicle's doors to grab him, Mr. Klecha hit the gas in what ultimately became a futile attempt to escape.
He knocked over two state troopers when he put the vehicle into reverse to try to flee. He then knocked over another two state troopers when he shifted to drive and tried to speed off, Deputy District Attorney Shane Scanlon said.
They were able to remove him from the vehicle. However, a physical altercation ensued, leading police to shoot him with a stun gun.
After the incident, the troopers - James Ford, James McEvoy, Jennifer Kosakevitch and Mark Murray - took medical leave, some for several months.
Trooper Ford returned to work on Wednesday, Mr. Scanlon said.
"I think it clearly sends a message to the community that when you're approached by an authority of the law you should comply." Mr. Scanlon said outside the courthouse. "Four troopers unnecessarily injured and a defendant who is going to spend so many more years in prison."
Mr. Klecha pleaded guilty in February to seven charges, including felony counts of aggravated assault and possession with the intent to deliver a drug.
The judge's sentence, nine to 18 years in prison, also took into consideration a separate case. Mr. Klecha was charged in Susquehanna County with possession with the intent to deliver a drug that was related to another controlled heroin buy.
The case was transferred to Lackawanna County, where he pleaded guilty to that charge.
Before he received his punishment, Mr. Klecha apologized to the troopers "as well as their families and also the community."
"If I had been sober and thinking clearly, I would have acted totally different," he said.
He was under the influence of heroin and Xanax, according to court testimony.
The judge told him he had a chance to be taken into custody peacefully but refused. And for that decision, a message needed to be sent to others who might make the same choice.
"This kind of conduct cannot and will not be tolerated," Judge Geroulo said.
Contact the writer: smcconnell@timesshamrock.com @smcconnell on Twitter