LORAIN — Lorain
police Officer James Wolford pleaded no contest Monday to charges of failure to
maintain physical control and failure to control for a December car crash in
which his Ford Escape struck a parked Ohio Edison work truck.
Wolford, 44, was
originally charged with DUI in the case, but that charge was reduced to
physical control as part of a plea deal, defense attorney Jack Bradley said.
There were technical
problems with how the ticket was originally written and rather than fight in
court and possible appeals, Bradley said he and Special Prosecutor David Graves
agreed to the plea agreement. Graves said that given the issues in the case, he
was satisfied with the outcome.
He said the record
would reflect that Wolford pled down a DUI case, which isn’t uncommon for
first-time DUI offenders, and he received virtually the same penalties as if he
had been convicted of the original DUI charge.
Wolford was fined
$1,150, must pay court costs and will be on good behavior for one year,
according to Lorain Municipal Court records. He also will have to complete a
three-day residential course for DUI offenders.
Bradley said the
six-month driver’s license suspension Wolford received was because he refused
to take a breath test to determine if he was drunk at the time of the crash has
expired. Wolford had occupational driving privileges during his suspension.
According to police
and witnesses, Wolford’s SUV hit the work truck on North Oaktree Drive around 1
a.m. Dec. 20.
Robert Rubeck, who
drives the truck, testified during a hearing in the case that he and his wife
were woken up by the sound of the crash and Wolford, who lives nearby, came to
his door to tell him what had happened.
Rubeck testified he
smelled alcohol on Wolford and told Lorain police Sgt. Ray Farley about that
when Farley talked to him.
Farley testified that
although he didn’t initially smell alcohol on Wolford, when he talked to him a
second time, he did.
In addition to
refusing to take the breath test, Wolford also would not submit to field
sobriety tests.
A decision on whether
Wolford, who has remained on the job while his case is pending, will be
punished for the off-duty crash has not yet been made, according to Geoffrey
Smith, Lorain’s director of human resources and risk management.
The veteran officer
has had a string of disciplinary problems during his tenure with Lorain police
and was demoted from sergeant several years ago. His problems include
mishandling an incident involving other officers, telling officers under his
command they didn’t have to wear bulletproof vests and telling a juvenile
during a domestic violence call that if he were his son, he would have hit him
with a 2-by-4.
He also has gotten in
trouble for mishandling a night club raid, publicly insulting a judge,
misleading prosecutors and making false allegations against a superior officer.
Wolford also once
faced federal charges he violated a handcuffed prisoner’s civil rights by
allegedly choking the man and spraying him with pepper spray. A jury acquitted
him of those charges, federal court records show.