Grimes gets time served
The Sentinel
October 18, 2009
By Heather Stauffer
Sentinel Reporter
Counting the 50 days he spent at a hospital under guard, Joshua Michael Grimes was imprisoned for 261 days following the high-speed chase he led state police on in November 2008.
That was enough, Cumberland County President Judge Edgar Bayley decided Tuesday. He gave Grimes, 28, of Carlisle a time-served sentence, plus fines totaling $550.
“I know my actions were wrong,” Grimes told Bayley, saying he had “messed up” and “should have thought” before doing what he did.
State police at Carlisle charged Grimes with aggravated assault and DUI, saying he fled a roving DUI checkpoint on Route 11 and led them on a high-speed chase for more than 10 minutes, much of it on small back roads, before they stopped him.
Police said Grimes shifted into reverse when one of was behind his vehicle, at which both troopers present fired shots that they testified were an attempt to stop him. One of the bullets hit Grimes in the side of the torso.
Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed has since ruled the shots justified.
h3. His perspective
*Grimes’ attorney, Tim Barrouk, has said throughout the legal process that Grimes admitted that he ran from police but didn’t realize the trooper was behind him and didn’t try to harm anyone.*
In August a jury acquitted Grimes of the more serious charges, convicting him of the third-degree felony of fleeing and eluding law enforcement in a manner that endangered law enforcement officers, but not while DUI.
Grimes was also found guilty of resisting arrest, reckless endangerment and two summary traffic violations.
*Barrouk noted that 261 days is at the top of the standard sentencing range for the crimes of which Grimes was convicted.*
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