***MEDIA ADVISORY***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 7, 2014

UNRULY BEHAVIOR LANDS RULLI IN PRISON FOR VIOLATION OF PROBATION

Media Contact: Curtis T. Hill, Jr. (574) 296-1888

On August 6, 2014, after admitting to violating his probation, local hit-and-run driver, Pasquale Rulli of Middlebury, Indiana, was sent back to prison for 18 months by the Honorable Judge David Bonfiglio of Elkhart Superior Court No. 6. Rulli admitted to drinking alcohol while on probation, blowing a .21 on a portable breath test (PBT), being arrested for Public Intoxication and Disorderly Conduct, and leaving Elkhart County without permission of the Court or his probation officer.

On July 10, 2012, while driving a Cadillac, Rulli hit then-17-year-old Zion Carlstrom on County Road 35 while she was riding her bicycle. Rulli fled the scene and failed to stay and render assistance to Carlstrom. As a result, Carlstrom suffered life-threatening injuries that left her hospitalized for weeks before going through lengthy rehabilitation efforts.

After being arrested and charged with Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, a Class D felony, Rulli pleaded guilty in Elkhart Superior Court 6 and was sentenced on March 15, 2013. Judge Bonfiglio sentenced Rulli to three years, with 18 months on home detention followed by 18 months of reporting probation. Rulli completed his home detention sentence and began his probation; however while on probation from Elkhart County, Rulli was arrested in St. Joseph County, Indiana, on or about May 18, 2014 for Disorderly Conduct and Public Intoxication. Rulli blew a .21 on a PBT and patrons informed police that Rulli “swung [at a] patron” of the bar at which Rulli was drinking. For reasons currently unknown, the St Joseph County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office dismissed the charge on June 23, 2014.

The Elkhart County Probation Department filed a violation of probation petition against Rulli on July 25, 2014, for which Judge Bonfiglio issued a $50,000.00 warrant for Rulli’s arrest. After bonding out of jail, Rulli appeared in court with his counsel, Phillip Miller, on August 6, 2014, and admitted that he violated his probation. Judge Bonfiglio told Rulli that he crafted his original sentence in a way that balanced the needs of punishment and the need for Rulli to obtain help and substance abuse treatment. Judge Bonfiglio noted that his sentencing orders were crystal clear, but as a result of Rulli’s recent actions, he was “done with” him. After Rulli claimed that he simply made a “mistake,” Judge Bonfiglio revoked Rulli’s 18 months of probation, had him taken into immediate custody in his courtroom, and sentenced Rulli to 18 months in the Elkhart County Jail or Indiana Department of Correction.

According to Prosecuting Attorney Curtis T. Hill, Jr., “This is an extremely serious crime with tragic consequences that have impacted the victim dramatically. Mr. Rulli was given an opportunity through probation to prove himself worthy of the Court’s consideration. He is now facing the consequences of choosing to violate the Court’s direct order.”

***

“Under Indiana law, all persons arrested for a criminal offense are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”