Tag Archives: guns
Victims Of The Charleston Tragedy
This appeared on Facebook so I can’t verify that it’s 100% accurate but I think it’s important to put a face on this senseless act of violence.
Those who lost their lives at Emanuel AME Church are:
• Cynthia Hurd, 54, a manager with the Charleston County Public Library system.
• Ethel Lance, 70, a retiree who recently worked as a church janitor
• Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41, a South Carolina state senator and pastor at the church
• Susie Jackson, 87, a longtime member of the church
• Depayne Middleton Doctor, 49, former Charleston County community development director
• Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, a church pastor, speech therapist and a high school girls’ track coach
• Myra Thompson, 59, a pastor at the church
• Rev. Daniel Simmons, Sr., 74, another pastor at the church
• Tywanza Sanders, 26, a 2014 graduate of Allen University, where Pinckney was also an alum.
Remember their names. And remember the 5-year-old that survived because her grandmother instructed her to play dead.
Charleston Shooter Captured
The FBI has announced that the Charleston shooter has been captured and is in police custody. Dylann Roof was captured in Shelby, NC according to news sources. He is accused of killing 9 people, including the church’s Pastor Sen. Clementa Pinckney, during a prayer service at historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC Wednesday night. The shooting is being classified as a hate crime, which is a federal offense.
Suspect Arrested In Hazleton Murder
Just 72 hours after a man was killed on a city street by gun fire, Hazleton police arrested the man they say pulled the trigger.
Officers arrested Raphael Mora-Polanco, 26, Hazleton, while conducting surveillance Sunday in the area of Second and Alter streets, about two blocks away from the shooting that claimed the life of Jorge Marrero, 35, who’s last known address was on South Poplar Street.
Marrero was shot multiple times in the area of Alter and Fourth streets Thursday around 10:30 p.m., police said. He was found by police on West Fourth Street, near Emerald Court, the alley between Alter and Vine streets, with bullet wounds.
Hazleton police Chief Frank DeAndrea labeled the homicide an “execution” due to the circumstances involved.
Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/suspect-arrested-in-hazleton-murder-1.1898205
Individual Shot At Sherman Hills, Reportedly Being Treated At Hospital
WILKES-BARRE, PA — Police responded to reports of a shooting tonight at the Sherman Hills apartment complex.
The shooting was reported at 320 Empire Court in the crime-troubled complex.
Initially police could locate neither the shooter or the victim.
A Luzerne County 911 dispatcher confirmed that police, ambulance and fire officials were on site in response the report.
Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news-news/153819063/
Wilkes-Barre Shooting Victim Spoke Out About Drug House
WILKES-BARRE, PA — A mechanic who frequently reported criminal activity near his home was gunned down in front of his residence on Willow Street early Friday morning.
Neighbors reported hearing multiple gunshots just after 3:30 a.m. in the area of 62 Willow St., where police found the body of 49-year-old Donald Bachman Jr.
Bachman was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:25 a.m. by Luzerne County Deputy Coroner Tom Moran.
An autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr. Mary Pascucci revealed Bachman died of multiple gunshot wounds. His death was ruled a homicide, Moran said.
Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/home_top-local-news/153245723/
Man Killed In Wilkes-Barre Shooting
A Wilkes-Barre man was gunned down early Friday morning outside of his home on Willow Street.
Donald Bachman Jr., 49, was shot in front of 62 Willow St. around 3:40 a.m., according to police and the Luzerne County Coroner’s Office. Police said a preliminary investigation indicated a confrontation between Bachman and someone he did not know led to the shooting.
Some neighbors heard multiple gunshots, but didn’t see the confrontation or shooter. Several said Bachman worked nights at the Martz Group and described him as a hardworking mechanic.
Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/man-killed-in-wilkes-barre-shooting-1.1873956
Route 222 North Between Route 322 And Adamstown Now Open
Route 222 North has been reopened after closing for more than an hour between Route 322 and the Adamstown exit, state police said.
It was closed between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Tuesday to allow police to further investigate Sunday’s police pursuit and shooting along the highway, they said.
Northbound motorists were detoured to Route 322 West and Route 272 North.
Charges have been filed against the man who led officers from multiple police departments on a high-speed pursuit, rammed a police car head-on and drove his SUV directly at officers on foot Sunday morning on Route 222.
Read more:
Police Say Hazleton Man Fired Several Shots At A Victim
Bullets from a 9 mm handgun pierced the quiet in Conyngham and neighboring Sugarloaf Township early Monday morning, along with a home and another piece of property.
State police at Hazleton said numerous shots were fired from the weapon after an altercation involving Dominic M. Lamont, which began on Main Street in the parking lot of Cuz N’ Joe’s Place, 291 Main St., around 2 a.m. Police say Lamont chased down the victim in a vehicle, firing rounds at him on Banks Avenue after the victim fled the parking lot after the verbal exchange.
No injuries were reported and Lamont, 25, Star Mor Lane, Hazleton, was taken into custody by troopers.
When troopers interviewed Lamont after the incident, he continually stated that he “snapped out” and messed up his life by shooting at the victim, court papers state. He said he fired at least 15 rounds at Mickey B. Boswell, 29, Leland, North Carolina, troopers wrote.
Read more:
http://standardspeaker.com/news/police-say-hazleton-man-fired-several-shots-at-a-victim-1.1871410
Hundreds Of Heroin Packets, Gun Seized From Plymouth Residence
PLYMOUTH, PA— Police confiscated more than 600 heroin packets and a handgun during the arrest of three people Thursday night.
Police arrested Pedro Manuel Noriega, 41, of West Main Street, Plymouth, and Jason Demski, 32, address listed as homeless, when they allegedly arrived at a residence on James Street to deliver heroin.
Noriega allegedly had 125 heroin packets and Demski had nearly $500 in his pockets, police said.
Read more:
Wilkes-Barre Police Investigating Shooting
WILKES-BARRE, PA — City police are at a residence on Monroe Street investigating a shooting this morning.
Police were alerted to the shooting when a man arrived by private vehicle at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital at approximately 10:20 a.m.
Police and city detectives wearing body armor are at the scene questioning witnesses and neighbors.
Read more:
In Focus: Church Reaching Out To Sherman Hills To Be Community Partner In Wilkes-Barre
WILKES-BARRE, PA — Is there hope for Sherman Hills?
The bigger question — Is there hope for the City of Wilkes-Barre?
The Restored Church on North Franklin Street will do its part to try to revive the city’s morale and its pride, and eliminate its fear.
The church will hold an event — “I Love My City” — on Saturday, April 25 in the Sherman Hills apartment complex parking lot. All residents of the city are welcome with their children. The church hopes the event will serve as a catalyst for similar events to be held.
Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/152853433/
Deadly 2013 Lands Wilkes-Barre On ‘Murder Capital’ List
WILKES-BARRE, PA — The city’s bloody 2013 has placed it on a list of the Top 30 “Murder Capitals in America.”
The 13 homicides that took place in Wilkes-Barre made for the deadliest year in city history. The city was ranked 18th on the list.
NeighborhoodScout, an information website which compiles data on neighborhoods and cities throughout the country, used FBI numbers on homicides to create a list of cities with the highest murder rates. The report lists Wilkes-Barre as having 12 murders and does not include a case involving an accidental shooting, which the FBI classified as involuntary manslaughter.
The report says that until recently, major cities ranked among the dominating murder capitals, but this list is “populated mostly by middle-sized cities as well as smaller cities in close proximity to larger ones.”
Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/deadly-2013-lands-w-b-on-murder-capital-list-1.1861214
Former Police Chief Tony George Urges Mayor Thomas Leighton To Address Wilkes-Barre’s Current State Of “Violence And Lawlessness”
WILKES-BARRE, PA — Citing a “crisis of lawlessness,” former Police Chief Tony George on Monday pressed Mayor Thomas Leighton to restore law and order to the city of Wilkes-Barre in the wake of one of its most vicious weekends to date.
George, a city councilman and Democratic candidate for Wilkes-Barre mayor, urged Leighton in a press release to address the state of public safety by implementing citywide saturation patrols with an emphasis in “the most troubled neighborhoods,” including South Wilkes-Barre, North End and the Heights.
Over six days, two people have been killed and five others seriously injured in five separate shootings.
Show of force
During a press conference at police headquarters Monday afternoon, Leighton said patrols have been ongoing since 2013 and will continue as long as there is violent crime in Wilkes-Barre.
Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news-news/152763481/
Philadelphia Teen Shot In Nanticoke
A shooting in Nanticoke left an 18-year-old male injured Sunday afternoon, police said.
Mark Brown-Mathis of Philadelphia was found walking down an alleyway between Orchard and West Broad Streets by two residents around 1:30 p.m., police said.
Brown-Mathis allegedly told the residents not to call police prior to them reporting the incident to 911.
When police arrived on scene they discovered Brown-Mathis had a gunshot wound to his right upper arm, according to the Nanticoke police department.
Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/philadelphia-teen-shot-in-nanticoke-1.1858841
Man Found shot To Death In Wilkes-Barre Residence
WILKES-BARRE, PA — Three shootings. Three days. Two dead.
After more than six months without a gunfire-related homicide in Wilkes-Barre, city police investigated three separate shootings this week — two of them hours apart on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, a vigil in support of non-violence is planned for Public Square tonight.
The latest investigation concerns the shooting death of Peter Bielecki Jr., 49, at his home at 70 Carey Ave.
Read more:
http://citizensvoice.com/news/man-found-shot-to-death-in-w-b-residence-1.1858235
Special Report: What Is Being Done To Combat Crime In Pottstown?
Pottstown, PA – Ask law enforcement dealing with violent crime in Pottstown about the biggest obstacle to catching criminals and they are likely to say it’s silence.
Or, more specifically, silence when police ask witnesses to provide information about a crime.
Repeatedly in recent months, as police have been grappling with a wave of violence, Pottstown Police Chief Rick Drumheller has pleaded with people to come forward and say what they know.
“It’s time to pick a side,” Drumheller said during a Dec. 3, 2014 council meeting.
Read more:
Special Project: Is Pottstown Becoming More Dangerous?
Editor’s note: Nice job, Evan. Make sure you read the whole article because this is a good news, bad news piece. Crime is still a problem in Pottstown.
POTTSTOWN, PA – Crime is not up in Pottstown, at least not according to the numbers.
Crime in the borough last year was, in nearly all categories, below the borough’s 10-year average, according to a Mercury analysis of crime statistics provided by the Pottstown Police Department.
The numbers of serious crimes like murder, rape and arson have remained relatively flat since 2005, and in addition, the statistics show that 2014 saw 13 percent fewer major crimes and a decrease of more than 16 percent in all reportable crimes.
Pottstown has not had more than two murders per year since 2007.
Read more:
http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20150308/special-project-is-pottstown-becoming-more-dangerous
Drugs, Gun Seized In Wilkes-Barre Raid
The Wilkes-Barre Police Anti Crime Unit and the Wilkes-Barre Drug Task force raided a residence on Blackman Street on a drug warrant early Wednesday morning.
The raid was a result of an ongoing investigation targeting drug trafficking in the Rolling Mill Hill section of the city and its surrounding areas, police said.
The investigation revealed Julio “Cesar” Fortuna, 21, was dealing large quantities of high-grade marijuana from his residence and the surrounding streets, police said. Authorities raided 431 Blackman St. around 6 a.m. Wednesday and took Fortuna into custody without incident, police said.
Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/drugs-gun-seized-in-wilkes-barre-raid-1.1813789
Nanticoke Man Arrested For Shooting In Wilkes-Barre
WILKES-BARRE, PA — A Nanticoke man was arraigned Thursday on charges he shot a woman in the head near Gordon Avenue in South Wilkes-Barre last week.
Michael Angelo Foschini Jr, 25, of West Main Street, was charged with two counts each of aggravated assault and simple assault, and one count each of possession of marijuana and reckless endangerment. He was arraigned by District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke and jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $250,000 bail.
Foschini was arrested by city police and Nanticoke police when he began driving away from his residence at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Police believe the woman, a 19-year-old, was shot in the head with a .22-caliber rifle. She survived her injuries.
Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/50888033/
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