Local Lawyer In Court, Ordered To Turn Over Vehicle Keys
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- For years, Chris Conrad walked the halls of the Allegheny County Courthouse as a prosecutor. On Thursday, he was before a judge, but this time as a defendant.
Facing as many as six DUI or DUI-related cases in recent years, and facing trial on a DUI case in August, Conrad was arrested Friday night in Mount Lebanon.
Police say Conrad was allegedly involved in a hit and run at the intersection of Meadowcroft at Parker Drive. There was a collision with another car. The driver of the other car was not hurt. But police, while not observing who was driving, traced the car to Conrad.
He was identified later by someone who knew him to drive the vehicle, but no one at the scene identified him as driving the car.
If he was driving, he was driving with a suspended license because of his previous cases. He can't legally drive till November of 2014.
Conrad claims a client of his was driving the car, but he would not tell police who the client was.
Prosecutors brought all this to the attention of the judge.
"It's their duty to do what they did here today, but they were just wrong in this one, I think," said Pat Thomassey, Conrad's attorney.
But since proof of who was driving was in dispute, the judge ruled Conrad must turn over his keys to a relative.
"He's had some personal problems. This issue today simply was he operating a motor vehicle when he was not supposed to be operating it, and frankly Judge Manning ruled that they didn't prove that," said Thomassey. "There was nobody who could identify him as being the operator of the automobile, so the judge in abundance of caution ordered Mr. Conrad to give up the keys to his automobile, which he hasn't been driving anyway."
Conrad's next project in court is defending the three Pittsburgh police officers in the Jordan Miles case.
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