A corporal in the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Department will serve one year on probation for a drunken-driving arrest in May, making her the fourth office employee charged with a crime past year.
In court Wednesday, Caitlyn Kralovic, 27, of Rillton, Sewickley Township, was admitted to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Program for first-time, nonviolent offenders. If the probation term approved by Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio is completed, Kralovic may apply to have her record expunged.
She was arrested about 11:20 p.m. May 5 on Barnes Lake Road in North Huntingdon after police found her in a disabled vehicle that appeared to have been damaged in a crash.
Police said Kralovic attempted to show her sheriff’s department badge before being administered a field sobriety test, which she failed. Blood tests indicated a blood-alcohol content of 0.28 percent, more than three times the legal limit in Pennsylvania.
Kralovic will continue to work as a logistics officer, scheduling inmate transportation and transfers, Sheriff Jonathan Heldsaid.
“Her position is a desk duty position, so it (the license suspension) will not effect her duties,” Held said in an email.
Days after her arrest, Held said Kralovic would not be suspended because the alleged incident occurred outside of work and on personal time.
Kralovic earns an annual salary of $40,332. She will not be permitted to operate a vehicle during a two-month suspension of her driver’s license. The sheriff declined to say if Kralovic received internal discipline. She served a five-day unpaid suspension in October for an undisclosed reason, county Controller Jeff Balzer said.
Kralovic’s arrest came months after Held was charged by the state Attorney General’s Office with public corruption offenses alleging he directed staff to perform campaign chores while on duty. A mistrial was declared after a four-day trial in December. Jury selection for Held’s retrial is scheduled to begin April 1.
The department’s chief deputy was convicted last year of a summary harassment offense in connection with a physical confrontation with a union official last summer. Shortly after she was found guilty, Patricia Fritz was fired from her job as the department’s second-highest ranking member.
The office’s third top official was charged in October with harassment and stalking by police in State College. Authorities allege Capt. Travis Day made unwanted advances to a woman while attending a 19-week training course for new sheriff employees at Penn State University in August.
Day was suspended from the sheriff’s department. His criminal case in State College is pending.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.
