ELKTON — A judge has ordered a man to successfully complete adult drug court after the defendant accepted a plea deal relating to a criminal case in which he intentionally drove his SUV into a patrol car in North East — pinning an officer between the ajar driver’s side door and the driver’s seat — and then triggered a police chase that ended in a single-vehicle crash, according to Cecil County Circuit Court records.
Cecil County Circuit Court Judge Cameron A. Brown deferred sentencing Thursday after the defendant — Justin W. Hand, 27, of Elkton — pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and fleeing and eluding a uniformed police officer, as part of a plea agreement reached by Assistant State’s Attorney Ellis Rollins and Hand’s lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Derrick Johnson.
Second-degree assault is a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to 10 years in prison while fleeing and eluding a uniformed police officer is a traffic offense that carries a maximum one-year sentence.
The judge then ordered Hand to successfully complete Cecil County Adult Drug Court (CCADC), which is a program aimed at treating qualified defendants who are facing more than one year in jail.
CCADC is a voluntary program for offenders whose primary diagnosis is substance abuse. It is a post-plea program for defendants who reside in Cecil County. It can take a CCADC defendant up to two years to successfully complete the program, though some have needed more time, and graduation ceremonies periodically are held inside the courtroom.
In addition to subjecting themselves to random and scheduled drug testing and frequent courtroom sessions, which are staggered to accommodate as many as 80 people in the program, drug court defendants must undergo counseling and treatment through the Cecil County Health Department and meet specified goals, such as earning their GED and securing employment.
A drug court defendant can face penalties, including weekend stays in jail or longer, for the presence of drugs in a tested urine sample, failure to attend a meeting or courtroom session and other violations.
Hand was released from custody on Thursday after the judge placed him in the adult drug court program, according to court records, which further indicate that Hand had been incarcerated for approximately six months in the Cecil County Detention Center on no bond as a pre-trial inmate after his February arrest.
The criminal case against Hand, which had included 11 other charges against him, including first-degree assault, remains open after he entered his guilty pleas and was placed in the adult drug court program, according to court records.
The investigation leading to Hand’s two convictions started at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Feb.3, when North East Police Department Officer Austin Lee saw Hand duck behind a Chevrolet Trailblazer while the officer was making a patrol check of the Flying J Travel Plaza parking lot in the unit block of Center Drive off Route 272 (North East Road), police reported.
Aware that Hand was wanted on a warrant issued to the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office, the officer circled back to the Trailblazer and saw that Hand now occupied the driver’s seat, police said. When the suspect saw the officer, he ducked his head, police added.
At that point, Lee activated the emergency lights on his parked patrol vehicle, got out of it and ordered Hand to remain where he was, according to court records.
But Hand shifted the Trailblazer into drive and drove into the patrol vehicle, striking the open driver’s side door and pinning Lee between that door and the driver’s seat, court records show.
Hand then fled the scene in the Trailblazer, heading east on Lums Road, police reported.
That triggered a police chase that continued onto Stevenson Road and then onto Union Church Road, and it was marked by Hand allegedly committing traffic offenses, police said. While attempting to negotiate a bend, Hand lost control of the Trailblazer, which veered across the opposing lane on Union Church Road and then off the road, before crashing into a patch of woods, police added.
Lee unholstered his agency-issued handgun as he approached the Trailblazer and ordered Hand to remain on the ground, according to court records, which further show that Hand attempted to run away from the officer. Lee swiftly caught Hand, however, and handcuffed the suspect, court records show.
After his arrest, Hand declined medical treatment, police reported.
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