Sentencing delayed for man who eluded cop

March 08, 2007|by DON AINES

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A Waynesboro, Pa., man shot by a Pennsylvania State Police trooper while trying to elude police last year recently pleaded guilty to a felony firearms charge and is scheduled to be sentenced next week.

Chris Alan Neil, 38, of 8789 Mormon Church Road, pleaded guilty Feb. 28 to carrying a firearm without a license, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, and fleeing or attempting to elude police. Neil was scheduled for sentencing Wednesday, but Judge John Walker granted the postponement to allow time to resolve issues related to a parole violation in an unrelated case, District Attorney John F. Nelson said.

The plea agreement calls for Neil to serve a sentence of 2 1/2 to seven years in state prison. Nelson said the confusion that led to the delay in the sentence was over how much credit Neil will receive for the parole violation since his arrest the day after the shooting.

Neil was shot in the arm on the night of Sept. 24 while attempting to get away from Trooper Scott Roussell, police said.

The incident began when Roussell pulled over two vehicles on Pa. 997 near Tomstown Road clocked by radar at 60 mph in a 35-mph zone, police said. Neil gave Roussell a phony name, and when the trooper went to speak with the woman driving the other vehicle, he sped off, police said.

Roussell gave chase, and at one point, Neil stopped, backed up and rammed the cruiser, police said. The car he was driving went into a yard on Mormon Church Road and Neil fled on foot.

Roussell said Neil pulled a handgun, at which point the trooper fired several shots, Nelson said in October after interviewing Roussell and reviewing audio and video from the cruiser. The shooting was not caught on videotape because the camera was knocked askew when Neil's vehicle rammed the cruiser.

Neil eluded police until the next day, when he was taken into custody at a home on Mormon Church Road.

Neil was taken to Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center following his arrest. The gunshot wound required surgery, and during a court appearance two weeks ago, Neil was wearing a soft cast on the arm.

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