Probation for ex-deputy who drove into York Expo Center security officer
York PA July 5 2020
A 73-year-old retired sheriff’s deputy has avoided prison for using his vehicle to deliberately hit a York Expo Center security officer in 2018.
Richard Van Egmond of Bolton, Mississippi, appeared in York County Court on Thursday via Zoom videoconference, where he was sentenced to two years of probation by presiding Common Pleas Judge Harry M. Ness, according to court records.
Ness ordered Van Egmond to pay restitution to his victim, undergo a mental-health evaluation and comply with treatment recommendations, records state.
The former deputy’s probation is being transferred to Mississippi, according to court records.
The judge said Van Egmond’s probation can end after one year if he has paid restitution in full and has complied with his probation conditions, records state.
Van Egmond pleaded guilty Jan. 27 to the second-degree misdemeanors of simple assault and reckless endangerment.
In exchange for his plea, felony charges of aggravated assault and causing an accident involving death or personal injury were dismissed.
The encounter: It happened just before 2 p.m. at the Expo Center on April 21, 2018, West Manchester Township Police have said. The Train Collectors Association was having its spring meet there at the time.
Court documents state the security officer asked Van Egmond to move his truck, which had a trailer and was parked in a fire lane near the west side of Memorial Hall.
Van Egmond became argumentative and refused to move his vehicle or give the officer his name, police said.
The officer went into the building and alerted the event coordinator, at which point the two went back outside, according to police.
The officer stood in front of Van Egmond’s truck while the event coordinator stood to the left of her, which is when Van Egmond started revving his engine a few times, court documents state.
He turned his wheels to the right, put the vehicle in drive, lurched forward and struck the officer, police said.
He then drove his truck to the end of the lane, turned right and headed north before Expo Center security were able to stop him, police said.
After she was struck, the security officer complained of severe pain to her lower back and she was taken to York Hospital by ambulance, court documents state.
Two witnesses told officers they saw Van Egmond giving the woman a hard time before running into her, police have said.
York Dispatch
