Man alleged to be drunk at DUI hearing

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- A man who showed up in court allegedly drunk to fight a drunken driving charge will have to go into rehabilitation or spent 60 days under house arrest, a judge ruled.
Michael Hanczyk, 42, of Bethel Park, was found in contempt of court Tuesday by Fayette County Judge John Wagner Jr. for showing up to an Aug. 3 court hearing drunk. According to a blood test, Hanczyk had a blood-alcohol level of .30 percent -- more than three times the state's legal limit for driving.
Wagner stopped the hearing after he and others smelled alcohol on Hanczyk's breath.
Hanczyk's attorney Daniel Hargrove agreed to the sanction, saying Hanczyk has a problem that would not be solved with a jail term.
The hearing was being held on a motion by Hargrove seeking to throw out a drunken driving charge stemming from a July 8, 2003, accident in Henry Clay Township, near the West Virginia border.
Police said Hanczyk suddenly stopped his car, setting off a chain-reaction crash with two other vehicles. After two troopers reportedly smelled alcohol on Hanczyk, he refused to take a field sobriety test but later agreed to take a blood test, which indicated he was drunk, authorities said.
But Hargrove filed a motion to have the charge dismissed, saying police didn't have probable cause to arrest Hanczyk because he was driving safely. The motion said the detention and arrest was improper and any subsequent observations, statements, chemical tests and other evidence should be thrown out.
If Hanczyk fails to go to rehab, he will be placed under house arrest for 60 days, Wagner said.