A 42-year-old North Little Rock man has been sentenced to three years in prison for a drunken-driving hit-and-run crash involving a police officer.
Sentencing papers filed last week show Lance Rodesilk Bruce pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident with injury, a Class D felony, and misdemeanor second-offense driving while intoxicated in exchange for the sentence imposed by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Leon Johnson. Bruce faced a maximum of six years in prison.
Under the conditions of his plea agreement, negotiated by deputy prosecutor Hannah Malone and defense attorney Angela Kendrick, Bruce will be eligible for early release if he satisfactorily completes rehabilitation programs at a Community Corrections Center.
Court records show that on March 3, 2022, at about 9:48 p.m., Bruce, driving north in the 1600 block of Pike Avenue, turned into the path of the southbound patrol car driven by North Little Rock Officer Damian Jurisic. Jurisic was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Within a few minutes of the collision, police found a car matching the description of the hit-and-run vehicle at Bruce's home, 1908 W. Long 17th St. Bruce was slumped over in the driver's seat. Bruce demonstrated signs of intoxication. He smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred. His eyes were red and watery and he performed poorly on field sobriety tests.
Bruce was taken to the hospital where his blood was sampled, showing his alcohol level to be 0.29, three times higher than the 0.08 legal limit. Records further show Bruce, formerly of Ozark, was driving on a suspended license.
He was arrested on a warrant about five months later, in August 2022, and released on his own recognizance.
Bruce was convicted of misdemeanor driving while intoxicated in May 2022 in West Memphis.