Edgewood Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Dragging Sheriff’s Deputy with Car

From the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office:

On Thursday, May 17, 2012, William Scott Fetzer, 33, of Edgewood, Maryland, received a sentence of 20 years to serve, for dragging a Harford County Sheriff’s Deputy, with a car. Fetzer, a passenger in a car that was to be searched by a K-9, commandeered the car he was riding in and fought with Deputy Tyler Vass for control of the vehicle. The deputy was dragged along Route 40 until, Fetzer lost control of the car and it smashed into a light pole, near the intersection of Route 40 and Edgewood Road.

At that point deputies were able to pull Fetzer from the vehicle however, he continued to struggle, kicking and punching the deputies. Fetzer did not yield until a police dog was used to help gain control of the defendant.

Investigation revealed that at the time of the traffic stop Fetzer was wanted on two warrants. A search of the car yielded a plastic bag on the front passenger floorboard where Fetzer was sitting when the car was first pulled over. Inside the bag were three kinds of illegal narcotics, Suboxone, Oxycodone and Alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax a tranquilizer, in addition to a large bag of marijuana and approximately $7725.00 in cash.

Fetzer pled guilty to First Degree Assault, three counts of Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Dangerous Substances and one Count of Felony Theft of the car he commandeered. The owner of the vehicle claimed not to know Fetzer and states he never gave him permission to drive the car.

Fetzer had prior convictions for felony drug offenses. He was sentenced by Judge Emery Plitt to serve 20 years for First Degree Assault to be served in the Maryland Division of Corrections, three additional 20 year terms for 3 counts of Possession with Intent to Distribute CDS and 10 years for Theft of the car. As a condition of the sentences the Court ordered Fetzer to serve the first 10 years of the 20 year sentence without parole.

The defendant is also facing pending felony drug charges in Baltimore County which are scheduled to come to trial later this year