Westmoreland judge says Hempfield bicyclist violated terms of probation

The Hempfield bicyclist who served nearly two years behind bars for obstructing traffic on county roadways insisted in court Monday he didn’t pedal a mountain bike on Carbon Road last October.

Despite the denial, a Westmoreland County judge ruled David Smith, 59, violated terms of his probation and ordered he serve an additional two years on supervision.

“I find the identification credible,” Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said. “He was on the roadway. The good thing is he was off on the side as he is supposed to be.”

Following an August 2017 jury trial, Smith was convicted of nine misdemeanor offenses involving six separate incidents dating back to 2012 in which he was accused of riding down the center of various roads and not allowing traffic to pass.

Prosecutors said Smith was aggressive with several motorists who attempted to pass. One accuser claimed Smith struck her vehicle as she waited behind him at an intersection.

Smith served nearly two years in jail as he awaited his trial and refused to accept conditions of bail that required him to undergo a mental health evaluation. He was eventually paroled after the judge sentenced him four to 23 months behind bars and an additional two years on probation for his convictions. As part of that probation the judge barred Smith from riding his bicycle on open roadways.

Westmoreland County Deputy Coroner John Swartz, a former state police patrolman, testified as he drove eastward on Carbon Road on Oct. 29 he passed Smith on a mountain bike traveling in the opposite direction. Vehicle traffic was not impacted, he said.

“The only traffic on the road at that point was me and Mr. Smith,” Swartz testified.

Smith, during his trial, vehemently argued he broke no laws as lines of vehicle traffic backed up behind him during his various bike rides. In court Monday he maintained he was not the man Swartz saw in October.

“That was not me,” Smith said, noting Swartz described the bicyclist as wearing a helmet and goggles. “I don’t wear a helmet, and I haven’t in years.”

He conceded he routinely pedaled off road on the Five Star Trail, and he traveled there through a field and not over the road.

In addition to the additional probation period, the judge continued her order that bars Smith from riding his bike on public roads.