Erie man sentenced for taking car, fleeing from police on I-79
An Erie man was given a jail sentence Thursday, March 21, for fleeing from police in a sport utility vehicle that didn’t belong to him.
Dashawn Zigler, 20, was sentenced by Judge Timothy McCune to serve 9 to 18 months in the Butler County Prison followed by 12 months of probation. He is also to pay $500 in restitution to the owners of the stolen vehicle and pay a $100 fine after pleading guilty to a felony charge of fleeing to elude police and a misdemeanor charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle.
State police filed those and other charges against Zigler following a Nov. 1 chase on Interstate 79 south that ended in Muddy Creek Township in a Chevrolet Trailblazer that was reported stolen in Erie.
Zigler, who was driving, and passenger Jeffrey T. Hill, 29, also of Erie, were charged in the incident.
James Pfaff, of Erie, said his Trailblazer was stolen while it was warming up in his driveway.
He told McCune that he and his wife have been married since 1978 and after years of working and saving money they were finally able to buy two new vehicles at the same time.
Pfaff said Zigler and Hill were a “boil on society’s butt” and said they are a “disgrace to their mothers.”
Police said Zigler drove in between two lanes, on the berm, and sped through a posted construction zone at 110 mph.
After the vehicle stopped, police said Zigler fled on foot, but was later apprehended.
Police said Hill attempted to spit on a trooper and stated to another that “when these cuffs are off there will be bloodshed.”
The case against Hill is pending. He is facing felony charges of receiving stolen property and assaulting an officer, and a misdemeanor count of terroristic threats.
Zigler was being held in jail on $100,000 bail and Hill remains in custody in lieu of $250,000 bail.
