A Marion Center man entered a guilty plea to multiple charges dating back to an incident in 2020.
District Attorney Robert Manzi announced this morning that 59-year-old Ernest Lee Benham entered a guilty plea for a third-degree felony charge of DUI, High Rate of Alcohol, 4th rate or subsequent offense, as well as summary charges of driving while his blood-alcohol content was 0.02 or higher on a suspended license, disregarding traffic lanes, careless driving, failing to stop and give information and accidents causing damage to property for the incident on May 26, 2020, when Manzi said he drove intoxicated to the Route 119 South Sheetz in Homer City that day.
Benham drew the attention of an employee at the store after staying in his car for a period of time and he stated that he was waiting for his sister to arrive and take him home. Benham then drove away from the store and hit a nearby traffic sign.
Security video showed that Benham drove back to the store and attempted to fix a flat tire and state police arrived soon after.
A blood sample found that his blood alcohol level was 0.135 and that his license was suspended due to prior DUI charges.
Manzi thanked troopers in the release and said Benham admitted to his offenses due to facing a jury.
A sentencing hearing will be held on July 22 before Judge Michael T. Clark.
