ELCO school board candidate faces DUI charges; affidavit says BAC was .234%

A candidate for the Eastern Lebanon County School District board of directors waived a preliminary hearing last week over a handful of misdemeanor charges related to a DUI incident that allegedly took place in July.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, Myerstown resident Cody Brian Wealand, 33, was arrested on July 12, when Pennsylvania State Police troopers observed a vehicle traveling east on Lehman Street in Lebanon and straddling the double yellow line. Troopers noted in the affidavit that the silver Silverado was observed crossing the white fog line one time and the center line two times. A traffic stop was initiated at approximately 2:03 a.m.

Troopers said in the affidavit that upon approaching the vehicle, they observed Wealand fumbling with the window switches and that he “could not put the window down.” He eventually rolled down the window, the affidavit says, at which point troopers “could smell the strong order of an alcoholic beverage emanating from inside the vehicle.”

PSP Trooper Justin Achenbach said in the affidavit that he observed Wealand’s eyes were bloodshot and watery, and his speech was slow and slurred. Wealand allegedly told troopers that he had consumed “2-3 drinks at the cigar bar this evening.”

Achenbach then asked Wealand to exit the vehicle so he could administer field sobriety tests. Achenbach stated in the affidavit that during the field sobriety tests Wealand “displayed signs of impairment such that rendered him incapable of safely driving, operating or being in actual physical control of the moment of the vehicle.”

Wealand was taken into custody and a search was performed. Achenbach said in the affidavit that a yellow “Dime Industries” THC vape was found in his right front pocket. Wealand denied that the vape was THC and said it was nicotine. Wealand then gave his consent for a chemical test of blood while troopers secured the vape in their patrol vehicle.

Achenbach said that Wealand was transported to WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital, where his blood was drawn at approximately 3:12 a.m. Wealand was released under Rule 519 and the blood kit was submitted to a lab for testing, the affidavit says.

Achenbach said in the affidavit that the vape tested positive for THC and that the toxicology report indicated that Wealand’s blood sample had a .234% ethanol content as well as Delta-9 Carboxy THC at the rate of 13 ng/ml and Delta-9 THC at the rate of .66 ng/ml.

The legal limit for an alcohol DUI conviction in Pennsylvania is .08%.

While THC blood rates constituting a DUI are not standardized in Pennsylvania law, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has a policy (PDF) stating that its attorneys “may assume that a defendant whose blood tests positive for 5 ng/mls of psycho-active THC (Delta-9-THC) was driving while impaired.”

Wealand faces a half-dozen misdemeanor charges including five different DUI charges as well as a charge for intentional possession of a controlled substance.

According to court documents, Wealand waived his preliminary hearing on Thursday, Oct. 16. At the hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge Kim R. Wolfe, Wealand’s bail was set at $1,000, which Wealand posted that day.

A preliminary hearing is a pre-trial proceeding where the prosecution must demonstrate it has sufficient evidence to potentially support a conviction, but it doesn’t determine guilt. Defendants frequently waive this hearing because they’ve already received discovery materials outlining the prosecution’s case.

The case will now move to the Court of Common Pleas of Lebanon County, where Wealand will be entitled to a jury trial in which he is presumed innocent unless and until the prosecution can prove all required elements of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

No trial date has been set.

According to court documents, Wealand is represented by Palmyra attorney Scott Grenoble, who said Wealand had no comment regarding ongoing court matters.

Wealand is running as a Republican alongside three other candidates as “ELCO Conservatives for School Board,” a group that also includes Rachel Moyer, Bonnie Kantner, and Jordan Weaver. Four seats are up this November, with one Democrat on the ballot, Megan Schaeffer, and no other Republicans on the ballot besides the four affiliated with ELCO Conservatives. A fifth Republican, Bryan Fischer, is running a write-in campaign.