SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Damari Roulhac, age 26, of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, was convicted on Sept. 26, 2017, of charges arising from the hit and run of a United States Park Ranger. The two-day trial was held before United States District Court Judge James M. Munley in Scranton.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, the jury returned the guilty verdict after approximately three hours of deliberation. Roulhac was charged with and convicted of one count of assaulting a law enforcement official, and one count of fleeing from a law enforcement official.
The evidence presented during the trial showed that on the evening of July 1, 2016, United States Park Rangers patrolling the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, encountered Roulhac and ordered him to stop his vehicle. Roulhac refused to obey the Rangers’ instructions and accelerated his vehicle towards one of the Rangers, causing him to jump out of the way. When the Ranger then attempted to detain Roulhac, he accelerated again, striking the Ranger with the vehicle while fleeing the scene of the incident.
Roulhac was able to evade apprehension on July 1, 2016. However, Rangers tracked him down days later, at the Pike County Courthouse, when Roulhac was sentenced for an unrelated DUI conviction.
The case was investigated by Rangers from the National Park Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Phillip Caraballo and Evan Gotlob prosecuted the case.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The combined maximum penalty under federal law is 10 years of imprisonment. There is also a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and up to $250,000 in fines. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
