Pa. Man Had Seven DWI Arrests Prior to Fatal MVA

LOWER TOWNSHIP — Lower Township Police Department issued a press release Sept. 16 which states that John J. Lawless, 37, of Caster Avenue, Philadelphia, who was charged with Death by Auto as a result of a head on motor vehicle accident that took the life of local resident Frederick Shelton, 50, had seven prior DWI arrests.
Police Chief Edward Donohue said Lawless was arrested for DWI in Pennsylvania on the following dates, which are public record and obtained from a First Judicial District of Pennsylvania Court Summary, which is available online:
• Oct. 3, 1996: Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) arrest.
• March 16, 1998: DWI arrest with minimum two months/maximum three months prison term, plead guilty.
• Sept. 7, 1998: DWI arrest with minimum two months/maximum three months prison term, plead guilty.
• April 29, 1999: DWI arrest. Plead guilty to recklessly endangering another person. Placed on one-year probation. Plead guilty to DWI, minimum two months/maximum three months prison term.
Lawless’ Pennsylvania driver’s license was suspended indefinitely on or about 2001.
• July 62, 2004: DWI arrest. Dismissed under speedy trial regulations.
• June 11, 2005: DWI arrest with minimum one year/maximum two-year prison term. Plead guilty.
• Dec. 24, 2008: Involved in a motor vehicle accident in Philadelphia, arrested for DWI and Criminal Mischief.
Case is due to be heard in Philadelphia Court in October 2009.
The release also states that Sheri Shelton, 44, and her 13-year-old daughter, Brittany, were also in the vehicle at the time her husband was killed. Sheri Shelton is listed in critical condition at the Harrah’s Regional Trauma Center at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, while her daughter is in stable condition at Cooper Hospital in Camden.
In addition to a Death by Auto charge, John J. Lawless faces two counts of Assault with a Motor Vehicle, Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated, Driving with a Suspended License, Reckless Driving and Failure to Maintain a Single Lane.
“The bottom line here is that this man should not have been operating a motor vehicle on any highway, in any state, based on his suspended driving privileges and his record of previous DWI arrests,” Donohue said at the time of the accident.
On Sept. 16, Donohue said that the Lower Township Police Department will monitor this case closely with the assistance of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, as the charges filed against Lawless make there way through the New Jersey Criminal Justice System.
Lawless is still currently under guard by Lower Township Police Officers at the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center.
Lawless will be arraigned on the criminal charges pending his release from the hospital. His bail has been set at $100,000.