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No Jail Time for Former Laceyville Police Chief

TOWANDA — The former chief of police in Laceyville was facing up to six months in jail after pleading guilty to drunk driving. Prosecutors in Towanda had ...

TOWANDA -- The former chief of police in Laceyville was facing up to six months in jail after pleading guilty to drunk driving.

Prosecutors in Towanda had even arranged for Perry to be put in protective custody at the Bradford County prison.

But instead, Scott Perry got a break. He walked out of court Monday, headed home to Clarks Summit, serving probation instead of jail time.

Until recently, Perry was the chief of police in Laceyville.

Perry had just driven away from a hearing at a magistrate's office in Bradford County on December 9, when he was pulled over by state police.

Perry was driving a squad car, wearing his uniform, and carrying a loaded gun. His blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit.

On Monday, Perry faced a judge who could have sentenced him to six months in jail. Instead, the judge gave Perry five months probation and credited the 28 days he spent in alcohol rehab as jail time served.

The former chief says he will have to face up to his alcoholism for the rest of his life.

"It does not discriminate against anybody. I'm out there enforcing these laws and look at the mistakes I made," Perry said.

"In today's day and age, all you have to do is put a name on Google and there's all your past sins. So he's going to be known for the rest of his life as the chief of police who showed up to a hearing intoxicated and drove drunk," said Jason Matteoli, Perry's attorney.

Perry says his alcoholism has cost him dearly. He was once a fraud investigator for the state attorney general's office, but says his drinking cost him that job more than a decade ago.

In court, Perry apologized to the people of Laceyville, where as chief, he was a one-man department.

Borough supervisors fired Perry in February, disbanded the police force, and now Laceyville is covered by state police.

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