A former Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office reserve deputy from Westfield has pleaded guilty to a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and will be on probation for one year.
Patrick Heitz, 56, pleaded guilty before Hamilton County Court Magistrate Erin Weaver June 26 and was ordered to pay $385.50 in court costs and fees, according to court records. Heitz was charged Feb. 13 after Westfield Police Dept. Officer Jonathan Mathioudakis saw Heitz driving a White Ford F-150 on Little Eagle Creek Avenue approaching the area of Towne Road when the vehicle slowed down, activated its turn signal and drove left of the center double line.
In a probable cause affidavit filed in Hamilton County Circuit Court earlier this year, Mathioudakis said he smelled an odor of alcohol on Heitz’s breath and that he had glassy eyes, slurred speech and red, bloodshot eyes after a traffic stop. The probable cause statement alleges Heitz was unable to go from C to N in the alphabet as instructed and was asked by Mathioudakis to perform field sobriety tests but refused to do so.
The statement also alleges that Heitz “struggled to touch the tips of his fingers together as instructed and counted in the incorrect order during the finger count test.” Heitz was eventually brought to the Westfield Police Dept., where he was asked by Mathioudakis to take a certified chemical test, according to the probable cause statement.
Heitz, who had been a reserve deputy with the sheriff’s office since Jan. 8, 2013, was suspended from his role after being charged with OWI, which is a Class A misdemeanor in Indiana. Bryan Melton, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said that Heitz immediately resigned with the sheriff’s office after he was arrested and is no longer with the agency.
Court records indicate that Weaver also recommended to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles that Heitz’s license be suspended for 60 days starting June 26 as part of the sentencing order. Heitz will not spend any time in the Hamilton County Jail as he received two days of credit with an additional 363 days suspended, according to the sentencing order
“The parties stipulate it is in the best interest of society to terminate the suspension resulting from the refusal,” according to the sentencing order. Court records indicate a plea agreement was struck between Heitz, his attorney Mario Massillamany and Hamilton County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Cass Edrington in the case.
As part of Heitz’s conditions of probation, he will be required to have a drug and alcohol assessment and comply with any treatment recommendations. Heitz is also not permitted to “consume or possess any alcoholic beverages and shall not be on the premises of any establishment that sells or serves alcoholic beverages where a minor would not be allowed by law unless it is pursuant to his occupation as a construction worker,” according to the sentencing order.
Court records indicate that Heitz paid the $385.50 in court costs and fees and was ordered to report in person to the Hamilton County Probation Department following the sentencing hearing.
