A 55-year-old West Deer man with nine previous convictions of driving under the influence is facing his 10th charge after parking an SUV outside the Shaler police department.
Shaler police filed charges Saturday against Brian R. Ballantine in connection with the Tuesday incident in the parking lot of the Shaler municipal building off of Wetzel Road.
According to a criminal complaint, a Shaler officer was leaving his station just before 6 p.m. when he saw an SUV parked in the middle of the trafficway near his station’s gas pumps. The driver’s door was open and Ballantine was found in the driver’s seat.
The officer described Ballantine as confused and disoriented, and reported seeing a large, wet puddle on the ground directly outside the driver’s door, the complaint states.
The officer reported seeing an open 25-ounce beer can in the center cupholder and another can crushed on the passenger floor.
When the officer asked Ballantine if he knew where he was, Ballantine said, “Yeah, I’m having fun,” according to the complaint.
The officer said Ballantine was sweating, had slurred speech and glossy eyes, was very slow with his responses and had an overwhelming odor of alcohol coming from his breath and body, the complaint states. He later repeatedly had difficulty standing.
After being asked for his driver’s license, Ballantine said he had only an identification card and that his license is suspended for DUI, the complaint states.
Police moved Ballantine into their station as people were arriving for a Shaler commissioners meeting that night. He then declined to do field sobriety tests that had been attempted in the parking lot, and later refused to have his blood tested, the complaint states.
Police reviewed their surveillance cameras and confirmed that Ballantine was the only person in the SUV when it pulled into their parking lot, nearly hitting another vehicle on Wetzel Road, just before 5:30 p.m., according to the complaint. No one was seen leaving or approaching the vehicle until the officer did.
A few minutes after arriving, Ballantine is seen on video stumbling out of his vehicle, using a door for balance, and urinating in the parking lot while others were nearby, according to the complaint. He was seen taking three sips from the beer can that was in the cupholder.
Police said that three of Ballantine’s nine previous DUI convictions were within the last 10 years, making this DUI charge a felony. He has also been convicted eight times for driving with a suspended license.
When asked if he had any other DUIs, Ballantine told two officers, “I never meant to hurt anybody” and that he “was just having a good time today,” according to the complaint. He also said, “This one right here, I’m going to prison.”
Police released Ballantine to his mother, and his brother picked up his vehicle the next day.
In addition to the felony DUI charge, Shaler police also charged Ballantine with misdemeanor counts of open lewdness and driving with a suspended license.
Ballantine was arraigned Sunday and being held in the Allegheny County Jail on $1,000 bail, according to court records.
His preliminary hearing before District Judge Daniel J. Konieczka Jr. is scheduled for Oct. 29.