A Bristol Township man convicted of charges related to a crash that killed a retired Maryland law enforcement official was arrested recently on a Montgomery County warrant.
Montgomery County Sheriff Russell Bono’s office said in a statement that John Joseph Monachelli Jr., 34, of Croydon, was taken into custody last week by deputies at his home on Wyoming Avenue.
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The sheriff’s office learned Monachelli was released from a prison in Maryland after only a few months. He was convicted of permitting another to drive impaired; making a false statement to police; failure to report the crash to the nearest police; and failure to remain at the scene of an accident involving attended property related to the 2013 Maryland crash that killed retired police officer Phillip Patrick Nolan.
Here’s more from authorities:
Monachelli and the driver, Tyler Deibert, decided to drive Monachelli’s Mazda since it didn’t have the interlock ignition system that monitors alcohol consumption – a feature that was added to Deibert’s vehicle. The drunken pair lost control of the vehicle after hitting a deer, and then plowed into Nolan’s shop where he lay sleeping.
The Maryland crash came about two months after Monachelli was arrested in Montgomery County with being under the influence of alcohol and Xanax, and with the blood alcohol level of .195, the sheriff’s office said.
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Monachelli failed to appear in Montgomery County court for the charges filed in September 2013, according to court records. At that point, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
After Monachelli was released from prison in Maryland, prison officials from that state alerted Pennsylvania authorities of the 34 year old’s release from their facility.
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Monachelli remains in Montgomery County prison on $50,000 cash bail.
