Upper Makefield Man Who Faked Disabilities Sentenced To Jail

Some unlucky person pushed the helpless looking 60-year-old man in a American flag-clad wheelchair up the winding ramp at the Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown Monday morning as a light drizzle fell.

Coming into the lobby of the Justice Center, the sheriff’s deputies awaiting James George Douris’ arrival focused their attention on him. A news camera snapped away and he waited, like everyone else, to go through security. The screeners were kind to the man who appeared to be dealing with several disabilities. They appeared to truly believe he was a person with disabilities.

A few hours later, Prosecutor Jonathan Long would state Douris had no real physical disabilities and didn’t really need a wheelchair. Long wasn’t just making an assumption. He had plenty of proof, including surveillance photos and video, to show that the former plummer from Upper Makefield was using his alleged disabilities as a way to get people to treat him like he was “special.”

In fall, Douris was convicted by a jury of perjury, forgery, fabricating evidence and false statements under oath for submitting false documents before Falls Township District Judge Jan Vislosky. He later pleaded guilty to allegations he lied before county Judge Robert J. Mellon.

At the end of Monday’s longer-than-usual sentencing hearing, Bucks County Judge Gary B. Gilman sentenced Douris to 30 days to 23 months in county lockup, with house arrest being a possibility if he completes 15 days problem-free in jail. Gilman also made sure Douris was confined not to a wheelchair but a five year probation sentence and 200 hours of community service with the VFW post in Doylestown.

“You need to change,” Gilman told Douris. He added that Douris’ charade was an “affront to every individual who is truly disabled.”

The judge said that despite a doctor stating the 60-year-old had a narcissistic personality disorder, he needs to become a functioning member of society and not just a burden on the legal system.

Gilman said Douris would need to pay for the cost to prosecute the case.

Douris is known throughout Bucks County for his litigious nature, pointing out real and perceived American With Disability Act violations. Upper Makefield solicitor Peter Nelson even testified Monday that the township brought in an expert on disability accommodations several years back after Douris’ complaints.

“It was clear he was trying to set up township police and employees for complaints,” Nelson said.

Larry King, an analyst from the district attorney’s office, said before Gilman that Douris has filed more than 31 separate actions in federal court in the past 20 years and lost nearly every single one. He also testified that Douris filed 15 or 16 local court actions.

Federal court documents show Douris at one time sued Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare for not providing food stamps for a “service dog.” It was a suit he lost.

Defense attorney John Fioravanti called his client a “pest” to the court system.

Aside from the court actions, Douris received more than $200,000 from his insurance company to repair damage from a 2009 storm. While he told the court they money was all used toward repairs, officials from the district attorney’s office seemed unsure of his claim. They also noted a request for $50,000 from the insurance company after Douris claimed a 15-year-old service cat that reminded him to take medication died.

King said Douris’ game started after he shut down his plumbing business in the mid-1990s after a number of consumers complained he ripped them off. Douris reached a deal with the district attorney’s office and Pennsylvania Attorney’s General’s office that led to him reimbursing some who he provided estimates for and paying fines to the state.

After Douris signed an agreement with state officials, he sought to be compensated for lost income and various other issues he had with the settlement. He unsuccessfully claimed he was owned $5 billion in compensation.

Douris spoke during court and maintained he suffered from numerous debilitating issues, even after a mountain of evidence showed him walking, picking up weeds, climbing on his pitched roof and building a tree house. Aside from using the wheelchair, Douris claimed Monday he suffered from diabetes, digestive issues, carpal tunnel, hearing loss, knee problems and told sheriff deputies he was color blind and couldn’t tell the color of their yellow Taser.

In a rambling 45-minute-long statement, Douris told Gilman he was eating vegan and uses homeopathic remedies to treat his various alleged ailments. He even stated a special cocktail made of herbs and some alcohol “for just a little kick” helps him manage his pain.

Long played surveillance video of Douris pushing a hand truck with a trash can around his while picking up weeds.

Douris said the mobility and flexibility was due to the special cocktail, which he admitted was intoxicating. Even though Long had video for several consecutive days, Douris said he was out of commission after allegedly exerting himself cleaning up his yard.

“When I was in the pictures, I had a cocktail to reduce the pain so I’m able to function,” the former plumber told the court.

“I have disabilities officials don’t recognize. “I’m not a normal person … I’m abnormal because of my disabilities,” Douris said before talking about drug addiction by Elizabeth Taylor.

Douris mentioned several times injuries that he received “in the service,” which was a short stint in Navy training before being discharged after a slip on ice in 1977. He even said his mother noted he came back from his time in the military “different.”

“I’m sorry I caused all of this trouble to all these people.”

Bucks County Emergency Services Officer Michael Coffman testified that Douris recently parked at the Justice Center in an off-limits spot meant for disabled people who use vans to get around. He also said Douris, a frequent visitor of county offices, had been uncooperative but not belligerent in the past.

An official from the tax office spoke of all the accommodations they had made for Douris when he was close to losing his house. Long later said a disabilities coordinator also worked with Douris while preparing for trial.

“The bottom line is I can’t control him,” Fioravanti said, adding his client appears to suffer from an extreme personality disorder.

“These disabilities are only there for his convenience,” Long stated before the judge.

The prosecution also raised concerns about statements submitted by Douris that defended his integrity. Long pointed out the one doctor who wrote a letter supporting Douris had his name spelled wrong and all the notes appeared very similar.

‘We don’t even recognize his disabilities because we have a mountain of evidence that says otherwise,” Long said before Gilman handed down the sentence. He added that Douris had spent “years and years of essentially screwing everybody.”

As sheriff’s deputies went to take Douris out of court without his wheelchair, a small crowd gathered to watch what may have constituted a miracle had Douris actually been physically disabled. But it was a letdown, Douris still complained that he couldn’t walk and eventually was wheeled out of court.

Before he left, he spoke with his attorney about filing an appeal and getting a wheelchair in jail.

“He’s still pulling this,” one person said as they stormed out of the courtroom.