A 23-year-old Seymour man who allegedly crashed his motorcycle drunk then, later, got into a fight with cops outside a bar, was denied access to a special form of probation Thursday.
Judge Karen Sequino denied Erik Turski’s application for accelerated rehabilitation in Superior Court in Derby.
Had he been approved, his criminal record would have been wiped clean if he did not get arrested for a set amount of time.
Turski has two criminal cases pending in Superior Court in Derby.
He was charged with operating under the influence after crashing his motorcycle and falling off a bridge on Route 67 in Seymour in July 2009. Emergency personnel and random citizens fished him out of a pond. The crash nearly killed him.
Then, in January, he was charged with breach of peace, interfering and attempted assault of a police officer after allegedly trying to grab a cop’s weapon during a drunken altercation outside a Seymour bar.
Turski declined comment after the judge’s decision.
Before deciding, the judge listened to a statement from Seymour police Officer Don Scheithe, who urged the court to reject Turski’s application.
“Mr. Turski is extremely hostile in dealing with the police,” Scheithe said. “Prior to this incident, I’ve dealt with Mr. Turski before. He’s physically attacked police officers. Like I said, he’s extremely hostile in each occurrence.”
Scheithe went on to describe the “serious nature” of the incident in which Turski allegedly grabbed for an officer’s gun, saying, “it could have resulted in serious physical injury of myself, other officers, or citizens.”
In addition to Scheithe, state’s attorney John Kerwin also opposed Turski’s application.
In an attempt to counteract, Turski’s attorney, Clifford Hoyle, presented Sequino with five letters from friends and family attesting to Turski’s good character.
In one of the letters, a supporter wrote: “I consider him to be [a] fine young man. It was totally out of character for him to do anything illegal or improper. I am sure Erik will never allow himself to be in this situation again if he is granted accelerated rehabilitation.”
When the judge asked if he would like to add anything, Turski expressed remorse.
“I’m very sorry for what happened,” he said.
Turski is due back in court July 6.