Peebles man sentenced in Highland County failure to comply case

A Peebles man was sentenced to 18 months in prison recently after pleading guilty to failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer.

Austin McIntyre, 24, was indicted by a Highland County grand jury on the third-degree felony charge July 7 and pleaded guilty less than a month later, on Aug. 5.

The incident was alleged to have occurred on or about May 21 “in Highland County and as a continuing course of criminal conduct in Brown County.” According to a bill of particulars, a Highland County Sheriff’s deputy approached a parked vehicle, with McIntyre in the driver’s seat, after receiving a report of an occupied vehicle parked at a closed business location in Lynchburg. After identifying the driver, the deputy was advised that McIntyre had multiple warrants for his arrest.

According to the bill of particulars, when the deputy asked McIntyre and his passenger to exit the vehicle, McIntyre allegedly “stated he was not going back to jail and locked the doors.” When the deputy attempted to reach in to unlock the door, McIntyre allegedly “put the vehicle in drive and sped forward through the grass before entering” the roadway.

The bill of particulars alleged that McIntyre traveled “at speeds in excess of 100 mph while passing other vehicles on the roadway,” eventually striking another vehicle during “a u-turn maneuver.”

After accepting McIntyre’s guilty plea, Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss sentenced him to 18 months in prison, with 76 days of jail time credit. McIntyre’s driver’s license will be suspended for three years, effective Aug. 5. 

McIntyre was also ordered to pay $500 in restitution to the victim in this case.