Police Charge Man Shot By Wilkes-Barre Officer

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HANOVER TOWNSHIP, PA — The man shot and wounded by police in a Hanover Township parking lot was hit Thursday with felony assault and drug trafficking charges alleging he tried to run down two officers while speeding away from a crack deal he made with a police informant, according to court documents.

Bong Bob Kim, 30, of 9 Harkins Lane, Wilkes-Barre, remained hospitalized at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township on Thursday night as state police filed charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, criminal use of a communication facility, drug trafficking, fleeing police and reckless endangerment.

Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis on Thursday night identified Wilkes-Barre police Officer Joseph Sinavage as the officer who shot Kim.

According to a police affidavit filed in court, a state police vice unit and Wilkes-Barre police were conducting a joint drug operation at about 2 p.m. Wednesday in the area of the Family Dollar on Carey Avenue when things went awry.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/police-charge-man-shot-by-w-b-officer-1.1791355

Manhunt Impacts State Police’s Future

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Monroe County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HARRISBURG, PA — As the intensive manhunt for suspected cop killer Eric Matthew Frein ends its fourth week, Harrisburg is taking the first steps to address how this unprecedented event will affect the future operations of the Pennsylvania State Police.

Officials here discuss the topic with the caveat that the manhunt isn’t over yet. Considered armed and dangerous, Frein, 31, of 308 Seneca Lane, Canadensis, is the sole suspect in the Sept. 12 sniper attack at the Blooming Grove state police barracks in Pike County that killed Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II of Dunmore and wounded Trooper Alex T. Douglass of Olyphant. Since then, authorities have been searching for Frein, a self-described survivalist, in the dense state forest that straddles Barrett and Price townships in Monroe County.

The estimate by a state police spokesman this week that the manhunt has cost several million dollars so far is one issue emerging on the radar screen of Corbett administration officials and lawmakers. Policy makers are starting to focus on related matters such as security at state police barracks, equipment needs of state troopers, impact on local governments and schools and assistance of local fire companies, 911 centers and the Red Cross with the manhunt.

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, has requested a Senate committee hearing in Pike County once the manhunt is over to delve into these issues.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/manhunt-impacts-state-police-s-future-1.1769039

Terrain Difficult In Hunt For Frein

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Monroe County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PRICE TWP., PA — Eric Matthew Frein could make the roughly 30 mile hike from the scene of a murder to his hometown without ever seeing another person.

The terrain state police believe the suspected cop killer is hiding in could make him invisible.

“That whole area is pretty remote,” said Gary Alt, a retired state Game Commission officer and wildlife biologist.

Alt has spent more than a thousand hours in an airplane, flying low over the woods that stretch from Blooming Grove to Price Township, looking for bear. His experiences working in the game commission afford him intricate knowledge of the terrain Frein likely crossed to escape a manhunt that began in Pike County.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/terrain-difficult-in-hunt-for-frein-1.1768591

Corbett Stands By One Of His Appointees In Porn Scandal, Wants Another To Resign

GOV. CORBETT is standing by one state law-enforcement official caught up in a porn scandal, but has asked another to resign.

Corbett says information released this week by state Attorney General Kathleen Kane does not show that State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan opened any of the more than 300 explicit emails he received while working as a top deputy to Corbett when the governor served as attorney general.

Noonan has told the governor he did not look at the files, a Corbett spokeswoman said.

A source familiar with the porn scandal said Randy Feathers, another top deputy when Corbett was attorney general, is resisting for now the governor’s request to resign his post on the state Board of Probation and Parole.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20141005_Corbett_stands_by_one_of_his_appointees_in_porn_scandal__wants_another_to_resign.html#BhkWAdZgxCUCrRcS.99

Frein Manhunt Moves North

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Monroe County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Barrett Township, PA. — The manhunt for a suspected cop killer shifted again Monday, but by nightfall had returned to the area where law enforcement focused their search efforts in recent days.

At about 11 a.m., state police cruisers, lights flashing, roared down Route 447, turning onto Spruce Cabin Road to establish a perimeter. More positioned themselves along the eastern edge of Route 447 and peered into the trees. The perimeter wrapped around to Route 390 and continued to the area near the Barrett Township Elementary Center, which was being used as a staging area, then it wrapped back east.

State troopers appeared on high alert.

Monday marked the 17th full day of searching for Eric Matthew Frein. Police accuse the 31-year-old of taking position outside of the Blooming Grove barracks Pike County with a .308-caliber rifle and opening fire during a late-night shift change on Sept. 12, killing state police Cpl. Bryon Dickson II and severely wounding Trooper Alex Douglass. State police said he then disappeared into the vast surrounding woodlands. Frein, of 308 Seneca Lane, Canadensis, left behind his parents’ Jeep Cherokee in a swampy retention pond two miles north of the barracks.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/frein-manhunt-moves-north-1.1762392

Residents Show Support For Police – Manhunt Continues

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Monroe County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BARRETT TOWNSHIP, PA — Eight-year-old Natalie Winot has watched state police and investigators wandering through her neighborhood for days on end.

The two stationed near her house in Canadensis since the search for a suspected gunman Eric Matthew Frein began demonstrated to her and her brother, Nicholas, how their bomb-sniffing dogs perform their jobs. Natalie now keeps trading cards with the dog’s photos in her school folder.

The Winots showed the officers how to feed carrots to a people-loving deer they call Cindy. The officers snapped pictures of Cindy to send to their children.

Natalie wanted to show her support for the officers who have helped her family feel safe during a weeks-long manhunt for Frein 31, of Canadensis, who has eluded police since a Sept. 12 ambush and shooting at the Blooming Grove state police barracks which left Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II of Dunmore dead and Trooper Alex T. Douglass of Olyphant critically injured.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/residents-show-support-for-police-1.1761947

Reports: Police Have Trooper Shooting Suspect Cornered

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Monroe County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Law enforcement apparently had state trooper shooting suspect Eric Matthew Frein trapped inside a house in Monroe County not far from his parents’ home Friday night.

Police surrounded a home where they believed Frein was hiding, a local government official told CNN.

The national Cable News Network, followed by other media outlets on-scene, reported the development shortly after 9:30 p.m.

The home, which was broken into, is not far from Frein’s family home in Canadensis, a village in Barrett Township, in the Poconos Mountains.

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news-news/50349499/

FBI TEN MOST WANTED FUGITIVE ERIC MATTHEW FREIN

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/eric-matthew-frein/view.

Manhunt Intestifies; Frein Now Considered A Federal Fugitive

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Pike County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BLOOMING GROVE TWP. — Eric Matthew Frein is now a federal fugitive.

U.S. Magisterial Judge Thomas M. Blewitt issued the warrant Tuesday for the 31-year-old Canadensis man, wanted by state police for murdering a state trooper, on the charge of flight to avoid prosecution.

The warrant was public but the affidavit supporting it was sealed.

Mr. Frein, 308 Seneca Lane, is accused of ambushing Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II, 38, and Trooper Alex T. Douglass, 31, during a shift change Friday night at the state police at Blooming Grove barracks.

Cpl. Dickson, of Dunmore, was shot twice and died at the scene; Trooper Douglass, of Olyphant, is recovering at Geisinger Community Medical Center from a gunshot wound to his pelvis.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/manhunt-intestifies-frein-now-considered-a-federal-fugitive-1.1754779

Wilkes-Barre Pair Wanted On Drug Trafficking Charges

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Two Wilkes-Barre residents free on bail on charges that they attacked police officers are now wanted on felony drug trafficking charges after police found nearly 1,800 packets of heroin at their Scott Street home, according to court documents.

The arrest warrants stem from a pair of raids conducted earlier this month on homes on Scott Street in which city and state police seized 1,779 packets of heroin worth $35,580, a .45-caliber Gock pistol and $9,000 in cash.

Police say three people were involved in the drug ring: Christian Caraballo, 29, of 1164 Scott St., and two of his girlfriends: Benita Placencio, 39, of the same address; and Juleisy Bienida Abreu-Peralta, 20, of 960 Scott St.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/w-b-pair-wanted-on-drug-trafficking-charges-1.1721399

Five People Arrested In Buy/Bust Drug Stings In Wilkes-Barre

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WILKES-BARRE, PA — City police and state police troopers with the Vice and Narcotics Unit arrested five people in unrelated buy-bust drug stings on Wednesday.

According to the criminal complaints:

• Johnathan M. Simmons, 23, of Culver Street, Forty Fort, was charged with selling heroin in the area of North Grant Street and Amber Lane at about 12:55 p.m., which is in a school zone. Police had to stun Simmons with a Taser when he allegedly attempted to run away.

Simmons was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and criminal use of communication facility. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $50,000 bail.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/local-news-news/1384043/Five-people-arrested-in-buy-bust-drug-operations-in-Wilkes-Barre

Heroin, Gun Seized By Police In Wilkes-Barre

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WILKES-BARRE, PA — City police Anti-Crime Unit and state police Vice and Narcotics seized about 200 heroin packets, a loaded handgun with an altered serial number and a loaded rifle when they arrested three people from Philadelphia on drug trafficking offenses on Thursday.

Authorities said Marissa A. Ramos, 23, Jorge Esay Mojica, 23, and Bryan Mojica, 19, in a buy-bust operation on Scott Street.

A 9mm handgun and a semi-automatic rifle were found during the arrest. The rifle was reported stolen to the state police at Shickshinny.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/local-news/1336598/Heroin-gun-seized-by-police

Heroin With Street Value Of $20k Seized; Two People Arrested

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PLAINS TOWNSHIP, PA —A Harrisburg man is facing nearly 1,000 counts of scattering heroin packets along the North Crossvalley Expressway, state police at Wyoming said.

The docket sheet for Rashawn Collier is 52 pages listing 977 counts each of tampering with evidence and scattering rubbish when state police allege he tossed out 1,028 heroin packets from a vehicle during a pursuit.

Collier, 34 ,and Tasha C. McMurray, 26, of Passaic, N.J., were arrested after their vehicle was stopped near Exit 6 of the North Crossvalley Monday afternoon.

Read more:  http://timesleader.com/news/local-news-news/1233382/Heroin-with-street-value-of-$20k-seized;-two-people-arrested

Hazleton Man Charged In Fatal Shooting Outside Bar

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HAZLETON, PA — Police charged Terrence Clarke in a fatal shooting early Sunday morning witnessed by state troopers who later captured him after a foot chase.

The victim, Garey S. Cox, 45, of East Eighth Street, Hazleton, later died at Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest in Allentown.

Clarke, 26, of North Locust Street, Hazleton, wounded another man in the shooting the occurred around 2:10 a.m. outside Shaker’s Bar at 711 W. Diamond Ave., police said. The injured man was hospitalized, police said. His name and condition were not available.

Read more:  http://timesleader.com/news/local-news/1168061/Hazleton-man-charged-in-fatal-shooting-outside-bar

Police Dismantle Meth Lab In Lancaster County Mobile Home

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

State police learned that a methamphetamine lab was operating out of a mobile home in Paradise from an unexpected source.

Somebody living in the home.

A special team of state troopers dismantled the meth lab Sunday, and detained and questioned people they encountered who were leaving the home’s property.

Police went to the home, at 197 Cherry Hill Road, just off Route 741, at about 4:20 p.m., after getting a tip from a tenant who lived there.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/943495_Police-dismantle-meth-lab-in-Lancaster-County-mobile-home.html#ixzz2qJDV1upM

Police: Rockview Inmate Alone With Woman For 27 Minutes During Sexual Assault

Counties constituting the Happy Valley Region of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A former Rockview state prison inmate charged Thursday with the brutal sexual assault of a female employee was alone with the woman for 27 minutes, despite the fact that she sounded her emergency whistle, police say.

Omar Best, 36, faces multiple felony counts, including rape and aggravated assault, stemming from the July 25 assault. He is accused of raping the woman and choking her unconscious.

Charging documents filed Thursday by state police revealed new details about the assault.

Police said Best was able to get the woman alone by walking into a clerical area where she was working. She blew a whistle to signify she was in danger when Best approached her, but no help came, police said.

Read more here:  http://www.centredaily.com/2013/10/10/3831816/inmate-charged-with-july-rape.html#storylink=cpy

Man Exonerated In Fayette County Double Killing After 27 Years Sues Prosecutors, Investigator

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Fayette County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Freed after a quarter-century in prison following what federal judges called “a badly tainted and highly suspect conviction” for the Bear Rocks killings, David Joseph Munchinski has sued the men who prosecuted him and is asking that the state pay eight figures to make up for his lost time.

“Fair is fair,” said Mr. Munchinski’s longtime attorney, Noah Geary, on Wednesday after filing the lawsuit Tuesday night. “The man did 27 years wrongfully, and it’s time to do the right thing.”

The lawsuit names as defendants three former prosecutors, two of whom are now senior judges on the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas, plus the estate of a late state trooper. But its target is the commonwealth, as it claims the four men were acting as state agents and adds that their actions have been defended by the Office of the Attorney General during a decade of litigation.

“I think it’s eight figures,” Mr. Geary said of Mr. Munchinski’s claim for economic, psychological and punitive damages.  He said he hopes the state will settle.  Otherwise, “it would be up to a federal jury.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/man-exonerated-in-fayette-county-double-killing-after-27-years-sues-prosecutors-investigator-701937/#ixzz2e2NUR7JV

Traffic Stop Leads To Drug Charges

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Three Philadelphia residents face drug charges after a state trooper stopped their speeding vehicle near Bear Creek and found heroin, marijuana and a loaded revolver, according to court records.

Anton Larry Bennett, 27, Malachi Bennett, 25, and Jamal Clark, 40, are accused of possessing $8,500 worth of heroin in addition to 22 bags of marijuana and the gun, troopers said.

According to a police affidavit, Trooper Mark Conrad was running a radar gun along Interstate 476 at the Bear Creek exit when he clocked a Chevrolet SUV speeding through a 45 mph work zone at 57 mph.

The SUV then quickly exited the interstate. The officer followed, conducting a traffic stop.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/traffic-stop-leads-to-drug-charges-1.1540307

Conrad Weiser Coach Charged In Sex Assault

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Conrad Weiser High School athletics coach was charged by state police late Friday night with having sex with a 16-year-old girl he coached.

Troopers said they arrested Benjamin J. Stopper at his South Heidelberg Township home at about 9:15 p.m. He was awaiting arraignment in Reading Central Court late Friday night.

Stopper, 31, of the 200 block of Longview Drive had a three-month-long sexual relationship with the girl, troopers said.  He would meet her at his house and her home, give her rides home from practice and even took her along on a business trip to Philadelphia.

Troopers said they contacted school officials late Friday night to let them know about the charges.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=503002

Wernersville Man Killed In Shootout With Police

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Wernersville man was killed Saturday night after a shootout with Western Berks Regional Police officers in the borough.

Trooper David Beohm of the state police identified the man as Jonathan David Rutkowski, 20, after contacting family this morning.  He was pronounced dead at the scene by members of the Berks County Coroner’s office.  An autopsy is scheduled for today.

The incident began just before 8 p.m. Saturday in the first block of East Washington Avenue when residents reported seeing a man walking in the street with two guns stuck in his pants.

After several encounters with police, Rutkowski did not comply with orders and continued to point the guns at officers, Beohm said.  He was fatally shot along the Norfolk Southern tracks off of South Church Street.

Read more:   http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=497135