Former HS Basketball Star Falsely Accused Of Rape Back In Court On DUI Charges
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COLLIER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- A former basketball standout at Chartiers Valley High School, who was falsely accused of rape, was back in court Monday -- this time on DUI charges.
On July 26, 2017, Ross Wilkerson and his family breathed a sigh of relief. Their nightmare was finally over.
"I just want to thank my family and my friends and everyone else who supported me throughout all this," Wilkerson said at the time.
The Chartiers Valley Basketball star had been falsely accused of rape and prosecutors withdrew the charges. Wilkerson's attorneys, Mike and Michele Santicola, hired a private investigator and found proof the girl accusing him was lying.
"Anyone who knows me would know that I would not commit such a crime that I was falsely accused of," Wilkerson said in July.
The Santicola's said the next step would be to try to restore Wilkerson's good name.
Then, three days later, Wilkerson found himself in trouble again. This time, it was a Bridgeville Police Officer who was accusing him of driving under the influence.
Monday, Wilkerson waived his right to a preliminary hearing and is hoping to enter the ARD program for first time DUI offenders, according to his attorney, Mike Santicola.
"This is the type of situation where I think we're going to get him into a program that deals with some underage drinking issues, which is very typical, unfortunately, for kids his age in that situation. But at the end of the day, we think the program would be the appropriate spot for this case," Santicola said.
Wilkerson graduated from Chartiers Valley in May and is currently a student at West Virginia University. His attorney is hoping he will be accepted into the ARD program so he can get the help he needs to get back on track.
"This may be somewhat of a reaction to what he was dealing with in a previous case. He wasn't endangering anybody, he wasn't operating the car on any roadway, he was parked in a location, the car was on at the time, and there were no other allegations," Santicola said.