LEHIGHTON, CARBON COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— A Luzerne County Attorney who prosecutors say caused a deadly DUI crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike just had his conviction overturned.
In October of 2023, Shavertown attorney Joseph Persico was sentenced to three to six years in prison after being found guilty of vehicular homicide that took the life of Paul Gerrity.
Persico was driving the wrong way on the Pennsylvania Turnpike under the influence in 2018.
Persico's sentence has been overturned because of an unauthorized blood draw on the night of the crash.
The superior court says the judge made a mistake in denying Persico's motion to conceal the results of the blood test for trial.
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In the 24-page judgment, the Pennsylvania Superior Court states that Persico's rights were violated under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article I of the Pennsylvania Constitution during the investigation.
After arriving at the hospital, hospital personnel took several blood and urine tests from Persico.
At the request of the police, the vials were tested for blood alcohol content more than a month later.
Persico was found to have a .22 blood alcohol content at the time of the crash, nearly three times the legal limit in Pennsylvania.
The judges say that despite getting a search warrant to get a sample of his blood, the damage was already done due to the unwarranted blood draw.
Persico argues that the commonwealth provided no evidence that hospital personnel conducted the blood draw for medical purposes.
He says the blood was taken for criminal evidence without establishing probable cause.
It is now unconstitutional for hospitals to draw blood after car crashes based solely on probable cause of DUI without requiring a search warrant.
This comes from the verdict of Commonwealth vs Hunte that was passed down on June 17.
Carbon County District Attorney Michael Greek says, "The District Attorney's Office is reviewing the decision made by the superior court and is currently evaluating whether an appeal will be filed with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court."
We'll be sure to update you on air and online when more information becomes available to us in this case.
