Drunken driver Justin Batista gets house arrest so he can continue physical therapy on a seriously injured leg.
Justin Batista wove in and out of traffic, sped more than 90 mph and crashed into the back of a van while driving drunk.
He never expressed remorse for the crime in Palmer Township, according to the probation officer who compiled his pre-sentence evaluation.
The Aug. 1, 2015, crash was his second drunken driving offense, one of a handful of minor criminal offenses, and he can't stop drinking alcohol, according to Northampton County Judge Jennifer Sletvold.
"There are a lot of bad things weighing against you," she told the 25-year-old Bloomsbury man.
But one factor kept him out of prison: his leg.
He tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus, needed an arterial bypass and suffered severe nerve damage from the crash, Batista told the judge. He can't put weight on it, but he hopes to walk again some day.
He attends physical therapy four times a week, he said.
The judge feared sending him to prison could cause an irreversible setback in his progress.
"I don't want to cost this young man the use of his leg," she said. She sentenced him to six months of house arrest. He must wear a GPS monitoring bracelet and may only leave for doctors' appointments or physical therapy.
Batista was convicted of drunken driving, reckless driving and related offenses after a non-jury trial April 5 in front of Sletvold.
He appeared in court Friday in a wheelchair, wearing a T-shirt, shorts and his hair wrapped up in a bun.
"I'm very sorry," he said.
Defense attorney Susan Hutnik said the drunken episode was prompted by the death of his mother to brain cancer at age 55. She said he took care of his mother until she died, was suicidal after her death and self-medicated with alcohol.
"He's still maturing, I would say," Hutnik said.
Regardless of the circumstances, Batista needs to act his age, the judge said.
"You could have killed someone," she said. "This is the second offense that we know about. You are going to take a life. When is it going to stop?"
The probation officer who evaluated him prior to sentencing said he lacks responsibility, makes poor decisions and can't stop drinking.
"Like (Hutnik) said, I'm still maturing," Batista said.
While acknowledging the seriousness of the injury, Sletvold called Batista a selfish young man concerned only about his suffering and not the consequences of his actions.
Asked to explain why he never expressed remorse for his crime, Batista said, "The way I feel is hard to describe."
Batista is a semester shy of an associate's degree at Warren County Community College. The judge said he earns a living as a professional gambler.
Were it not for the injury, the judge said she would have no qualms about sending him to prison.
"I don't know that an appropriate penalty would be to deprive him the use of his leg," she said.
Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.