TYRONE - A Russian-born man with several aliases and Social Security numbers is facing his ninth driving under the influence charge after his arrest in Tyrone, according to police.
Yevgeniy R. Yefraimov, 28, of 1362 Pennsylvania Ave. has a criminal history spanning at least 10 states and includes eight prior DUI cases, including a still-unresolved case in Florida where he failed to show for court, Assistant District Attorney Julie Koren and Tyrone Officer Barry Fry Jr. told Magisterial District Judge Fred B. Miller on Tuesday.
Police initially filed drunken driving-related charges against Yefraimov under the name Eugen Yefraimov after his arrest Thursday, and he was lodged in Blair County Prison in lieu of $7,500 cash bail set by Magisterial District Judge Todd F. Kelly.
Further investigation showed that name as an alias, and so Yefraimov was brought before Miller where prosecutors withdrew the original charges, filed a new complaint under his real name and added a charge of false identification to law enforcement, police said.
From the bench, Miller read over Yefraimov's criminal history and pointed out Yefraimov has a nine-state arrest record and has used seven aliases with seven different birth dates. Fry told the judge Yefraimov is also connected to two different Social Security numbers.
Yefraimov has been arrested for leaving the scene of an accident involving serious injury or death in New York, where his record also showed arrests on drug charges, Miller said. In Colorado, Yefraimov was once arrested on false reports to police and marijuana possession charges, and he has faced DUI cases in New York, Massachusetts, Indiana, Florida, West Virginia, Mississippi, Vermont and Ohio, Miller said.
Fry arrested Yefraimov, who said he runs a cleaning service contracted to clean Rite Aid pharmacies around the country, just before 5 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of Sheetz, 1400 Logan Ave., after a complaint of a possible drunken driver, according to court records.
Yefraimov nearly backed into another car and then almost hit a child before he pulled his minivan over on the other side of the parking lot, police said. When Fry approached the shirtless Yefraimov, he allegedly tried to throw his Ohio-registered 2003 Mazda MPV minivan into gear and drive off, but only managed to rev the engine.
Yefraimov appeared intoxicated to the point he had trouble staying awake and couldn't produce a driver's license, police said. A subsequent blood test showed Yefraimov's blood alcohol level to be 0.193 percent, police said.
Yefraimov's public defender, Joseph Hartye, said the false reports charge can be chalked up to "a misunderstanding" because Yefraimov did provide his current Social Security number and birth date to police.
Hartye questioned Yefraimov to assure the court his client would attend any future court dates, although Fry told Miller that both Yefraimov and his girlfriend told him they didn't know how long they would be living in Tyrone.
Miller said he was concerned that Yefraimov had failed to show up for his Florida DUI case and said he had "one of the lengthier criminal histories" he has ever encountered.
"Not to mention it's spread out across pretty much half the country," Miller said before setting bail at $35,000 cash. "I have a significant concern over your case, sir. There's something here that doesn't seem right."
Yefraimov denied he didn't show up for court in Florida and said he was not a flight risk.
"After the leaving the scene of an accident [case], I was put on five-year probation and didn't have any violations," Yefraimov told the judge.
Yefraimov waived his preliminary hearing on the case Tuesday and was returned to the county jail. He is due to appear Oct. 30 in Blair County Court for a formal arraignment.
Mirror Staff Writer Greg Bock is at 946-7458.
