A person entered the residence in the 100 block of East Union Street while the homeowner, an elderly woman, was sleeping, police said.
Police said the woman discovered jewelry, prescription medication and her vehicle stolen when she awoke.
Police said the stolen vehicle was a tan, four-door 2005 Chevrolet Malibu with Pennsylvania registration plate PD8024N.
Anyone with information about the burglary and thefts is asked to contact Nanticoke police at 735-2200.

12/22/2009
Times Leader
City police reported the following unrelated incidents:

Joseph Thompson reported someone entered his apartment through an unlocked window and stole a 42-inch flat-screen television.
Amanda King reported someone threw a concrete block through the window of her brother’s vehicle while he was not home.
Charles Dennis, 40, of Dallas, was cited with harassment after he had left multiple messages on an answering machine after being told not to have contact with the complainant.
Andrew Novack, of East Ridge Street, reported someone threw a piece of concrete through his living room window.
Robert Kozlowski, of South Market Street, reported someone entered his vehicle and stole change.
Tracy Zdziarski, of West Noble Street, reported someone entered her vehicle and stole her iPod.
Cindy Prestash, of South Market Street, reported someone entered her vehicle and stole change.
Joseph Golembeski, of East Union Street, reported someone entered his vehicle and stole change.

12/22/2009
Times Leader
A city woman was arrested on charges of retail theft Wednesday after police said she stole several items from Weis Market in Nanticoke.

Heather Lynn Tolodzieski, 20, of Apollo Circle, was charged after police said she stole items totaling $46 from the grocery store.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Tolodzieski was observed by a loss prevention officer failing to scan several items at a self-checkout aisle in the store.
The loss prevention officer followed Tolodzieski to the exit where, he said, Tolodzieski was uncooperative in providing identification and denied not wanting to pay for merchandise.

12/17/2009
A man accused by police with providing false information on an application to purchase a firearm waived his right to a preliminary hearing before District Judge Donald Whittaker on Tuesday.
Times Leader

James Vonsavage, 56, of Kingston, waived charges of sale or transfer of firearms and unsworn falsification to authorities to Luzerne County court.
Police allege Vonsavage provided false information about not having felony convictions when he completed an application to purchase a gun at D&R Sporting Goods, Main Street, in June 2008, according to the criminal complaint.

12/8/2009
Police said Rhonda Ann Parry, 47, of West Grand Street, was cited with possession of drug paraphernalia after a box containing marijuana was allegedly found in her residence.
Times Leader

Police said they were investigating a dispute at the residence involving Parry and a boyfriend on Aug. 17. Police said a box containing marijuana and a pipe was hidden in a desk, according to the criminal complaint.
Police filed the charge with District Judge Donald Whittaker on Friday. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on Jan. 5 before Whittaker.

12/3/2009
Times Leader
City police on Tuesday reported the following:

A safe inside Eddie and Jacks Service Center, West Main Street, was damaged during a burglary.

Police said cash and alcohol were stolen in a burglary at The Quoit Club, Railroad Street.

Amanda Robaczewski, of West Washington Street, reported someone flattened two tires on her vehicle.

Theresa Goodrich, of South Walnut Street, reported a video game system and numerous DVDs were stolen during a burglary at his residence.

12/2/2009
Nanticoke man shot in standoff beat girlfriend unconscious, according to police
Bob Kalinowski - Citizens' Voice

A day before he engaged state police in an armed standoff in Conyngham Township, a Nanticoke man beat his live-in girlfriend, knocking her unconscious, according to Nanticoke police.
State police say they were forced to shoot Ralph C. Galicki, 37, on Friday when he refused to drop a handgun during a four-hour standoff at the St. Mary's picnic grounds on Moc-Lee Road.
On Thursday, police said Galicki arrived at his live-in girlfriend Nancy Giberson's 54 W. Grand St. home demanding money so he could "go score drugs." He became angered because she said she needed the money to buy her child Christmas gifts, police said.
During the dispute, Galicki smashed a telephone off the wall and punched Giberson directly in the face, knocking her to the ground. Giberson told police she "blacked out" for a short time and Galicki fled.
Police obtained an arrest warrant on charges of simple assault and harassment. Galicki was wanted on the warrant at the time he engaged police in the standoff.
According to state police at Wyoming and Shickshinny:
A trooper discovered Galicki around 12:30 p.m. Friday brandishing a handgun while sitting in a stolen vehicle at the picnic grounds. Galicki was shot and sustained a non-life-threatening wound while troopers attempted to take him into custody after Galicki refused to comply with commands to drop the firearm.
In that case, he faces charges of theft, receiving stolen property, burglary, aggravated assault, firearms not to be carried without a license, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
He is jailed in lieu of $50,000 cash bail.

12/2/2009
Cops: Man lies about robbery to get pills
John Chernowsky, of Nanticoke, allegedly makes up story in an attempt to get more Xanax.
elewis@timesleader.com

A man made up a robbery story to obtain a police report that he needed to get a new prescription from a physician, according to charges filed by Nanticoke police.
John Chernowsky, 25, of South Walnut Street, Nanticoke, reported that a man with a knife demanded everything in Chernowsky’s pockets near Patriot Square on Nov. 23, police said. Police said Chernowsky said he gave the bandit $180 and a pill bottle containing 87 Xanax tablets.
Chernowsky said he walked to the police department on East Ridge Street to report the robbery but was unable to contact an officer. But police said they learned from surveillance video that Chernowsky never appeared at the police department.
Chernowsky is further accused of attempting to burglarize an elderly neighbor’s residence for money to support a heroin addiction, police said.
He was charged with providing false reports to law enforcement, attempted burglary, attempted criminal trespass, criminal mischief and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on Tuesday for lack of $10,000 bail.
According to the criminal complaints:
Chernowsky reported he was the victim of a knife-point robbery in which the thief stole money and his prescription bottle containing Xanax tablets.
Chernowsky said he could not contact an officer when he banged on the door at the police department. Police said surveillance video from the police department did not record Chernowsky at the door.
Chernowsky requested a police report on the robbery that he was going to provide to his physician for a new prescription. Police said Chernowsky later admitted he fabricated the robbery story to obtain more prescription tablets.
In a separate incident, police said Chernowsky climbed onto the rear roof of an elderly neighbor’s house on East Church Street claiming he was looking for a shirt his friend had thrown on the roof on Nov. 24. Police said in the criminal complaint that they did not find a shirt on the roof.
Chernowsky later admitted he wanted to get into the house to look for money. A section of the roof and rain gutter was damaged by Chernowsky, police said.
Police said Chernowsky admitted to them that he has an $840-to-$1,000-a-month heroin habit.
Chernowsky was in possession of a syringe and had a rubber band around his arm when he was arrested Monday night. Police said in the criminal complaint that rubber bands are used when injecting heroin.
Preliminary hearings are scheduled for Dec. 29 before District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke.

12/2/2009
City police on Tuesday said Edward Randy Eckrote, 48, of South Prospect Street, Nanticoke, and Justin Craig Eckrote, 26, of Mill Street, West Nanticoke, were charged with assaulting Robert Gogola, 42, on Nov. 21.
Times Leader

Gogola told police he arrived at Edward Eckrote’s residence with Kimberly Rittenhouse, and the two men argued about who was dating Rittenhouse, according to the criminal complaint.
Gogola said Edward Eckrote and Justin Eckrote assaulted him in the residence. Gogola told police he suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung and a broken shoulder, according to the criminal complaint.
Gogola has been charged with simple assault and harassment, according to arrest records.

12/1/2009
City police reported that they are investigating 13 incidents in which items were stolen from parked vehicles
Times Leader

Common to all of the incidents were that the vehicles were entered from the front driver- or passenger-side window, there was no forced entry and all were unlocked. All were parked, either in the street or in private driveways, on the 500 block of East Grand, South Market, South Chestnut, East Noble and South Hanover streets. Items taken have been money, wallets and credit cards.
Residents are asked to lock and secure their vehicles and call 911 if suspicious activity is observed. Anyone with information about the break-ins are asked to call police at 735-2200.

11/25/2009
Times Leader
Police reported the following:

Robert Gogola, 42, of Garfield Street, was charged with simple assault and harassment after he allegedly assaulted Edward Randy Eckrote in a South Prospect Street residence on Friday, police said.

Police said Christine Xander, 45, of East Ridge Street, was charged with theft and deceptive business practices for allegedly accepting money for five laptop computers that she did not deliver.
According to the criminal complaint:
Mark Cieciorka of Throop told police he purchased five laptop computers on eBay from Xander in August.
Cieciorka said he mailed two money orders to Xander for the computers.
Xander sent an email to Cieciorka on Sept. 3 stating she received the money orders and mailed three of the five computers to him.
Cieciorka said he did not receive the computers and Xander told him they were lost in the mail.
Police said Xander failed to reimburse Cieciorka for the computers.

11/22/2009
Nanticoke man arraigned on theft charges
jmarckini@timesleader.com

A man wanted by city police was arrested Saturday morning for allegedly breaking into a vehicle for the second time in one week.
Anthony S. Brozusky, 24, of West Union Street, Nanticoke, was arraigned and charged with theft from a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property, escape, resisting arrest and criminal trespass, arrest papers state.
Police allege Brozusky broke into a man’s vehicle and attempted to steal items at 277 Mountain View Drive around 6:22 a.m., according to arrest papers.
Brozusky fled and was not immediately located until police were called out to 1203 Gemini St. for a report of a trespasser who matched the same description of the suspect in the vehicle break-in, the criminal complaint states.
Arrest papers state that Brozusky was warned in court about trespassing onto the Gemini Street property following a Jan. 20 arrest in which he was charged with illegally entering the home.
During the trespassing complaint, Brozusky resisted arrest and failed to comply with the officers’ commands after he was told a warrant was issued for his arrest for breaking into a vehicle earlier this week, police said.
According to a separate criminal complaint, police responded to a Loomis Street address for a report of a vehicle break-in on Monday. The owner told police he recognized the suspect as Brozusky who used to live in a nearby apartment.
Officers at the time could not locate the defendant and issued a warrant for his arrest.
A Taser used on Brozusky in Saturday’s incident was ineffective, police said. He ran away, but was later spotted walking near Walnut and East Noble streets where he was taken into custody.
Brozusky was taken to Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $20,000 bail on both sets of charges.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 1 before District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke.

11/22/2009
Times Leader
Two people were charged by police with assault when they got into a fight about marijuana early Friday morning, according to charges filed.

Gregory T. Falzone, 24, and Melanie Atkins, 23, both of East Chestnut Street, Nanticoke, were charged with simple assault and harassment. They were released on $5,000 bail each.
According to the criminal complaints:
Atkins told police she arrived home and Falzone asked her to obtain marijuana. When Atkins failed to get marijuana, she claimed Falzone became upset and struck her.
Falzone clamed Atkins scratched him, the criminal complaints say.
Preliminary hearings are tentatively scheduled on Tuesday before District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke.

11/21/2009
Nanticoke bowling alley raided in marijuana bust
eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

The L.S. Bowl-A-Rama complex at the intersection of Washington and Prospect streets is one of the sites raided by police and narcotics agents as part of an investigation into a large-scale, multi-state indoor marijuana growing operation, state police at Wyoming said.
According to police, search warrants executed Friday around 10 a.m. at several locations, including the L.S. Bowl-A-Rama, led to a seizure of 1,151 marijuana plants, three pounds of processed marijuana and about $100,000 in cash.
Police withheld the names of the people accused and the other locations searched, because the investigation is ongoing. Arrests will be forthcoming, and the case will be prosecuted through the U.S. Attorney's office, state police said.
Besides the state police vice and narcotics unit, investigating authorities include the federal Drug Enforcement Agency's Scranton office, Nanticoke City police, and the New Jersey State Police Marijuana Eradication Task Force.
"I'm glad they found it. I truly believe if that marijuana was being peddled on the streets of Nanticoke, our police would have found it â?¦ They do a great job," Councilman Joe Dougherty said. "DEA, New Jersey - this stuff had to be going all over."
L.S. Bowl-A-Rama owner George Ellis said he couldn't comment.
The once-popular bowling and skating venue was created by the Ellis family in 1974 out of a closed-down silk mill. L.S. Bowl-A-Rama was open until 2007. However, the adjacent L.S. Skate-A-Rama building, devastated by fire in 1991, has lain vacant ever since. For many years, Nanticoke officials have been calling the deteriorated Skate-A-Rama building an eyesore.
A private developer was looking to buy the L.S. Bowl-A-Rama site for Luzerne County Community College student housing. The developer planned to demolish the complex and construct a building with roughly 120 units. LCCC was not affiliated with the project.
Dougherty said city officials have not heard anything recently about the proposed project.

11/21/2009
Indoor pot-growing operation investigated
Pa. cops: Multi-state probe includes search warrant executed at bowling alley.
jmarckini@timesleader.com

A multi-state investigation is under way into a large-scale indoor marijuana-growing operation.
Search warrants were executed at several locations, including LS Bowl-A-Rama, 102 E. Washington St., Nanticoke, around 10 a.m. Friday, according to state police at Wyoming.
Attempts to reach the owner of the bowling alley were unsuccessful.
Authorities seized 1,151 marijuana plants, 3 pounds of processed marijuana and approximately $100,000 in cash, police said.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and will be prosecuted through the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Several indictments will be forthcoming, police said.
Police have withheld the names of suspects due to the ongoing probe.
The state police Vice and Narcotics Unit, Troop P, is investigating along with the Drug Enforcement Administration Scranton Office, Nanticoke City police and New Jersey state police.

11/17/2009
Times Leader
Police reported the following:

• A 15-year-old male from Plymouth was recently cited with retail theft for allegedly failing to pay for three beverages at Weis Markets.
• Julia Gladkikh, of Hanover Street, recently reported someone damaged her vehicle while it was parked near her residence, police said.
• John Zegarski Jr., of West Broad Street, recently reported someone stole a global positioning system from his vehicle that was parked near his residence.
• Louis Reese, of Coal Street, recently reported checks were stolen from his vehicle that was parked near his residence.
• Police said copper pipe was recently stolen from houses on West Ridge, West Union and East Noble streets.
• Tami Pearce, of South Hanover Street, recently reported an iron gate was stolen from her residence.
• Christine Xander, 45, of East Ridge Street, was charged on Nov. 10 with simple assault for allegedly stabbing her husband, Dennis Xander, with a screwdriver during a dispute at their residence. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled today before District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke.
• Police said John Joseph Wojciechowski, 40, of West Washington Street, was charged with assaulting a man at a bar on Nov. 8.
Wojciechowski was charged with simple assault, disorderly conduct, harassment, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on Dec. 15 before District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke.
Police said in the criminal complaint that Wojciechowski assaulted Huascar Castillo in Lacy’s Bar on Nov. 8 because Castillo was talking to Wojciechowski’s wife. Castillo suffered a broken nose, a broken tooth and a sprained ankle, police said.
Police said they found a small amount of marijuana and a pipe in Wojciechowski’s pockets, according to the criminal complaint.
• Police said Joseph F. Baynock III, 26, of East Washington Street, was charged on Nov. 9 with assaulting his girlfriend.
Baynock was charged with simple assault and harassment. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled today before District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke.
According to the criminal complaint:
Amanda Yurksha told police Baynock struck her head with a coffee mug during an argument in their residence. Yurksha drove herself to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Plains Township, where she initially told hospital employees that she was injured in a fall.
Police said in the criminal complaint that Yurksha suffered injuries to her face.
Baynock told police, according to the criminal complaint, that Yurksha swung the coffee mug at him and he accidentally struck her in the head with it.

11/12/2009
Convicted rapist pleads to stealing
Now serving a 14-to-28-year sentence, Joseph Eckrote admits to taking fuel.
sdelazio@timesleader.com

A Nanticoke man convicted of kidnapping and rape charges who entered a guilty plea to an unrelated theft case was sentenced Tuesday to one to two years in state prison.
Joseph Eckrote, 49, who was scheduled to stand trial on charges of theft by unlawful taking, instead entered a guilty plea. Luzerne County Judge David Lupas ordered that Eckrote’s one-to-two-year sentence run concurrently to his 14-to-28-year sentence on kidnapping and rape charges.
Eckrote originally pleaded guilty to the theft charge in July, but withdrew the plea in early September and asked to be scheduled for trial.
According to court papers, police said Eckrote stole approximately 300 gallons of fuel from a bulldozer on April 6, 2008.
Police said Eckrote told them he drove his truck to where heavy construction equipment was parked on Route 11 in Plymouth Township, pried off the fuel cap of a bulldozer, poked a hole in the fuel screen and siphoned off the diesel with a garden hose.
Eckrote was ordered to pay $1,330 in restitution costs to the Hanover Nursery, which owned the bulldozer, and more than $400 to state police.
Lupas ordered Eckrote to have no contact with the nursery, and then ordered he be returned to the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill.
A summary count of criminal mischief was withdrawn by prosecutors.
In May, Eckrote was sentenced to 14 to 28 years in state prison in the kidnapping and rape of a woman who was left stranded in the woods.
A county jury found Eckrote guilty on Jan. 7 of kidnapping, rape, robbery, simple assault, two counts of terroristic threats and a summary count of harassment.
In March, Eckrote was determined to be a sexually violent predator by the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board.

10/31/2009
A man was arrested by police on Thursday on charges he assaulted his mother and younger brother and huffed gasoline.

Aaron James Mulhern, 18, of Mountain View Drive, Nanticoke, was charged with two counts each of simple assault and harassment, and a single count of illegal use of certain solvents and noxious substances. He was arraigned by District Judge Michael Dotzel in Wilkes-Barre Township and jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $2,500 bail.
According to the criminal complaint: Police allege Mulhern assaulted his younger brother during a fight, and shoved his mother inside their residence on Thursday. Mulhern’s mother told police that her son had been huffing gasoline for most of the day.
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on Nov. 3 before District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke.

10/30/2009
Liquor enforcement officer charged with giving bar classified information about raid
elewis@timesleader.com

A state police liquor control enforcement officer was charged today with giving confidential information about an impending raid at a Plymouth Township tavern.
Michael Buckley, 44, of East Grand Street, Nanticoke, was charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution and obstructing administration of law. He was arraigned by District Judge Michael Dotzel Friday afternoon and released without bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
Buckley, as a LCE officer, overheard plans on Sept. 29 about other LCE officers going to Leo's Roadhouse in Plymouth Township and removing illegal gambling devices.
Investigators monitored Buckley and allegedly recorded him making numerous phone calls to Leo's Roadhouse from Sept. 29 to Oct. 16, the criminal complaint says.
During the recorded phone calls, Buckley asked a Leo Roadhouse employee if the owners "got the machines out yet?"
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on Nov. 3 before District Judge Joseph Halesey in Hanover Township.

10/17/2009
A man repeatedly threatened a city detective with violence, then spit on another cop while jailed at the police station Thursday in Nanticoke, according to two sets of charges filed Friday
Citizens' Voice

Police also filed a third set of charges against Jessie Kinney, 33, alleging he attacked and assaulted a witness in one of his other criminal cases.
Investigators said Kinney, of 636 S. Walnut St., recently moved to the area from South Carolina and now has been criminally arrested four times.
According to information from the three criminal complaints:
Kinney's trouble started Thursday when he was caught trespassing inside a commercial property on Prospect Street, utilized by Detective Kevin Grevera, while contractors were doing work around 8:30 p.m. A contractor unwittingly let them in.
Grevera, who was off-duty, confronted Kinney and another man. Kinney demanded to speak to one of the workers, Randy Eckrote, saying Eckrote owed him money. Grevera told them to leave and speak to Eckrote at another time.
After acknowledging he knew Grevera was a cop, Kinney threatened to "bust up" Grevera. Grevera warned him to leave or be arrested.
Witnesses say Kinney became hostile and approached Grevera in a threatening manner. Kinney continued to threaten Grevera and said he would set the building on fire.
Grevera, who has disabling injuries to both of his arms, summoned a worker to physically restrain Kinney and remove him.
Kinney walked a few feet down the road and entered the Prospect Cafe bar. Police arrived and apprehended an intoxicated Kinney in the bar.
At police headquarters, Kinney would not cooperate, before eventually being placed in a cell, police said. Around 10:40 p.m., Kinney inquired about the charges he was facing. He then spit on Officer Bryan Kata.
For the incident with Grevera, Kinney was charged with stalking, resisting arrest and harassment. He was charged with aggravated harassment by prisoner for spitting on Kata.
The other set of charges - simple assault, retaliation against a witness and harassment - stem from an altercation on March 29 when he allegedly attacked Richard Dunn, 24, on the 300 block of State Street while Dunn was walking to work. Dunn was a witness in another criminal case against Kinney.
After Dunn began to fight back, Kinney fled and threatened, "I'm going to get ya."
Kinney was arraigned Thursday in Wilkes-Barre Central Court and sent to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $20,000 bail.

9/30/2009
Times Leader
Police reported the following:

Police said they are investigating a residential burglary on West Church Street on Monday. A rear sliding glass door was forced open sometime between 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Police said a .380-caliber handgun and two jugs filled with coins were stolen.

Police said at least 10 vehicles parked on South Hanover, East Grand and West Church streets were entered and items stolen between Sunday night and early Monday morning.
Police remind residents to lock their homes and vehicles, and to call 911 to report suspicious activity.

9/29/2009
A Nanticoke man was sentenced Monday to six to 12 months of house arrest with an electronic monitor on charges of manufacturing methamphetamine
Times Leader

Ernest Higgins, 55, with a last known address of Apollo Circle, was sentenced on charges of criminal attempt to manufacture methamphetamine and criminal conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine by county Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr.
Higgins pleaded guilty to the charges in January.
According to court records, on March 10, 2008, Newport Township police contacted the Walgreens Drug Store in Dallas in regards to a receipt found in a garbage bag. Police said the receipt showed the purchase of 48 tabs of pseudophedrine in December 2007, which is a main ingredient in manufacturing methamphetamine.
Police said it is state law for stores to keep a log on who purchases the drug, and learned that Higgins had purchased the tablets, as did his girlfriend, who purchased another 48 tabs just an hour before Higgins went to Walgreens.
Records indicated Higgins had purchased large quantities of the drug from the Kingston Walgreens, as much as three different trips in one day.
Higgins’ girlfriend, Cathern Elizabeth Erdman, was also sentenced Monday on similar charges for the crime to six to 12 month’s house arrest with electronic monitor by Olszewski.

9/28/2009
Three Nanticoke residents face numerous charges after a traffic stop Friday on Horton Street
Times Leader

Norman Mayewski, 50, was pulled over at 4:23 p.m., after police noticed his vehicle had an altered registration plate, police said.
Police patted down Mayewski and his passengers – Sandra Mayewski, 46, and Theodore Glowacki, 25 -- for officers’ safety, and found the Mayewskis to be in possession of drug paraphernalia, police said, adding that Glowacki became disorderly.
Police said that during a search of the vehicle they found two firearms, one of which was stolen, ammunition, knives and more drug paraphernalia.
Glowacki was cited with disorderly conduct. Norman Mayewski was charged with weapons violations and possession of drug paraphernalia. Sandra Mayewski was charged with weapons violations, receiving stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Mayewskis were arraigned before District Judge Andrew Barilla and lodged at the county prison for lack of $5,000 bail each. Their preliminary hearing dates were unavailable on Sunday.
City police could not confirm whether the stolen gun belonged to a Hanover Township man. Township police reported on Friday that city police recovered a stolen handgun in a traffic stop in the city and called the township man to inform him they had his handgun.

9/24/2009
Man sentenced to state prison on sex charge
elewis@timesleader.com

A man was sentenced to state prison by a Luzerne County judge on Thursday for sexually assaulting an ex-girlfriend.
President Judge Chester Muroski sentenced David M. Vishnefski, 23, of Nanticoke, to 38 months to 76 months on the charge of aggravated indecent assault. Vishnefski pleaded guilty to the charge on June 25.
Vishnefski must register his address and employment's address with state police under the state's Megan's Law upon release from prison.
Nanticoke police said Vishnefski assaulted the woman on Feb. 6, according to arrest records.

9/17/2009
Drug-making charge is lodged
Robert Jacob Muntz’s lawyer denies his client is a member of a motorcycle club.
elewis@timesleader.com

A man associated with the Outlaws Motorcycle Club in Ashley was charged Wednesday with manufacturing methamphetamine.
Robert Jacob Muntz, 42, of Wapwallopen, surrendered at the office of District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke, where he was charged with three counts of manufacturing a controlled substance with intent to deliver, two counts of causing or risking a catastrophe and one count of illegal possession of a firearm. He was released on $100,000 unsecured bail.
State authorities allege several members of the motorcycle club were involved in a $3.6 million cocaine trafficking ring.
Muntz was among 22 people charged on March 18 by the state Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation in Operation Avalanche, an investigation that targeted cocaine trafficking by several members of Outlaws that had its clubhouse in Ashley. The clubhouse has since been condemned by Ashley officials.
Muntz is not a member of the Outlaws, his attorney, Ferris Webby, said on Wednesday.
Authorities allegedly discovered chemicals and contraband used to manufacture methamphetamines inside 195 W. Green St., Nanticoke, where Muntz formerly resided, on March 18.
A state police clandestine drug team, wearing protective suits, searched the home and allegedly seized chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine.
Nanticoke police Detective Capt. William Shultz said the additional charges were filed against Muntz after a state police crime lab in Harrisburg finished testing the chemicals allegedly found in the home.
Shultz also said 10 firearms were removed from the West Green Street residence. Arrest records state Muntz, who was convicted of a felony, was not permitted to own or possess firearms.
Muntz’s then-residence in Nanticoke was one of four locations that were raided by undercover agents in March as a result of the investigation.
According to a 237 page criminal complaint that was filed in March:
Agents made about 30 controlled cocaine purchases from Outlaws members from July 2008 to March. Thousands of intercepted phone calls led agents to identify Anthony Manchio, of Wapwallopen, as the Outlaws’ main cocaine supplier.
John Gonda, a Luzerne County correctional officer, was among those charged in March. He was suspended with pay after he was charged, according to The Times Leader archives.
Twenty-one people charged in March are facing drug-related charges in county court.
Muntz is tentatively scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 22 on drug-related charges that were filed in March, and on the latest charges, before Whittaker.

9/15/2009
Chiropractor charged with insurance fraud
elewis@timesleader.com

A chiropractor was charged by the state Office of Attorney General's Insurance Fraud Division for allegedly filing false insurance claims with an insurance provider.
Gary Peter McGee, 41, of Nanticoke, was charged with a single count of insurance fraud. He was arraigned by District Judge David Barilla in Swoyersville and released on $25,000 unsecured bail.
McGee leased his office from another chiropractor, Dr. Paul Mahler, in which he submitted false claims to Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania using Mahler's rubber stamp signature from 2004 to 2007, according to the criminal complaint.
Authorities said in the criminal complaint that McGee allegedly submitted 74 false claims and received $83,980 from Blue Cross.

9/15/2009
A New York man was sentenced Monday to two to four years in state prison after pleading guilty to drug-related charges.
Times Leader

Mikal Ameen, 30, with a last known address of Utica, N.Y., was sentenced by Luzerne County Judge Michael Toole on an illegal gun charge and charges of receiving stolen property, possession with intent to deliver; resisting arrest, providing false identification to law enforcement and criminal mischief.
According to court records, on Jan. 26 police responded to a Nanticoke residence for the report of a burglary. The homeowner told police someone kicked in the front door and stole a 50-inch television and Ruger 9mm handgun.
The gun was sold to Ameen in exchange for heroin. Police saw Ameen’s vehicle at his residence and searched it, finding a backpack in the truck, with the gun, a loaded magazine, $1,890 and 130 bags of heroin.
The TV was given to another man, who also turned it over to police.
When Ameen arrived home, police attempted to place him under arrest, but he ran away. Ameen went into his residence and locked the door.
When taken into custody, Ameen told police his name was Daniel Gibson before he was taken to jail.

9/12/2009
A Nanticoke man was charged by township police in connection with his alleged involvement in two residential burglaries in Huntington Mills on Thursday.
Times Leader

Leo J. Jarmusik, 50, of 55 W. Field St., was arraigned Friday on two counts each of burglary, theft, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief and four counts of criminal conspiracy. He was jailed at Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $25,000 bail.
Township police allege that Jarmusik conspired with three men, including his son, Dakota, to steal several items at 108 and 46 Brittney Lane around 2:30 p.m. Both homes were vandalized.
Charges also have been filed against Christopher Jarmusik, 48, of Nanticoke, and Theodore J. Maciejczak, 28, of Glen Lyon. Police said they broke into 108 Brittney Lane and took a pellet gun, court records show.
Police said the four men drove together in a Jeep to 48 Brittney Lane where they gained entry and stole several items that were later taken to Christopher Jarmusik’s home.
A preliminary hearing has been tentatively scheduled for Sept. 16.

9/10/2009
Homeless pair charged in thefts
Man and woman are hit with theft- and conspiracy-related charges in purse snatchings.
elewis@timesleader.com

Police in Kingston Township and Wyoming filed theft- and conspiracy-related charges against two homeless persons who allegedly went on a purse snatching spree near shopping centers last week.
Nanticoke police arrested Jason Raymond Edwards, 27, and Tanya Lynn Karasinski, 23, last Thursday when they were spotted leaving Weis Markets in Nanticoke after they allegedly attempted to steal a purse from a vehicle in front of Fetch’s Market in Plymouth.
Police said the pair were driving a vehicle that was reported stolen to the Plains Township Police Department on Sept. 2.
After their arrests, Edwards and Karasinski confessed they stole purses from vehicles near shopping centers on the same day in Edwardsville, Shavertown and Wyoming, according to the criminal complaints.
Wyoming police allege the pair are responsible for stealing a purse from a woman while she was loading groceries into her vehicle in front of Gerrity’s Supermarket on Wyoming Avenue. Kingston Township police claim the duo conspired to steal a woman’s purse near Thomas’ Market on the Dallas Memorial Highway.
Edwards and Karasinski stole the purses to get money to support heroin addictions, police said.
Nanticoke police said in the criminal complaints that they found purses, wax paper used to package heroin, metal spoons and syringes in the stolen vehicle.
Nanticoke police charged the pair with receiving stolen property, unauthorized use of a vehicle and possession of drug paraphernalia. Edwards and Karasinski remained jailed at the county prison for lack of $20,000 and $10,000 bail, respectively, on the charges filed by Nanticoke police.
On Wednesday, Wyoming police filed charges of theft against Karasinski who, along with Edwards, is also facing criminal conspiracy to commit theft. Kingston Township police filed charges of theft and criminal conspiracy to commit theft against the pair on Tuesday.
They haven’t been arraigned on the latest charges filed against them.
According to court records, Edwards was sentenced to two years probation in October 2003 after he pleaded guilty to robbery for stealing a woman’s purse in the parking lot of Gerrity’s Supermarket in Luzerne.
Court records indicate Edwards violated probation several times by testing positive for heroin and marijuana after his sentence in October 2003.

9/5/2009
Jury indicts pair on gun heist charges
Hanover Twp. men face federal prosecution in connection with smash-and-grab robbery.
elewis@timesleader.com

A federal grand jury has indicted two Hanover Township men in the theft of 33 handguns from a sporting goods store last month.
Michael Graboske, 46, and Raymond Rittenhouse, 22, were charged in a four-count indictment with illegal possession of a firearm, unlawful sale of a stolen firearm, theft of a firearm from a licensed firearm dealer’s inventory and conspiracy.
They were initially charged by police in Hanover Township and Nanticoke on burglary and theft related charges that will soon be withdrawn because of the federal indictment, Luzerne County District Attorney Jacqueline Musto Carroll said.
The federal grand jury indicted the pair on Wednesday, with the charges being made public on Friday.
Police arrested the pair in Nanticoke on Aug. 21 after they allegedly sold two handguns stolen from Nimrod Haven Firearms on the Sans Souci Parkway, Hanover Township, on Aug. 19.
According to arrest records and the indictment:
Graboske and Rittenhouse rammed a stolen car through the front doors at Nimrod Haven at about 4:50 a.m. Police said they used a metal pipe to smash glass gun cases, loaded a duffel bag with handguns and sped away in a dark-colored truck.
About 25 hours after the burglary, authorities learned the men wanted to sell some of the stolen guns, according to arrest records.
Rittenhouse and Graboske were kept under surveillance after Nanticoke police learned at about 5:30 p.m. Aug. 20 that the pair arranged to sell two handguns, a 9 mm and a .45-caliber. Police said the men had told others that they had burglarized the store and were selling the stolen guns, according to arrest records.
After their arrests, authorities searched their residence on South Main Street in the Askam section of Hanover Township, where they recovered 29 of the 33 stolen guns. Authorities suspect, according to arrest records, that two handguns were traded for crack in Wilkes-Barre.

9/5/2009
Nanticoke man pleads in punching death
William Bentley died in March after being punched outside Wilkes-Barre supermarket during a confrontation.
sdelazio@timesleader.com

A Nanticoke man scheduled to stand trial next month on involuntary manslaughter charges pleaded guilty Friday to causing the death of a Wilkes-Barre man by punching him in the head.
Zireek Gardner, 18, of East Main Street, pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment of another person, two counts of simple assault and unrelated possession with intent to deliver charges before Luzerne County Court Judge Thomas Burke.
Gardner will be sentenced on Nov. 17, when he will face a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Vough said Friday that Gardner and William Bentley got into a fight on March 26
outside Schiel’s Family Market on Hanover Street in Wilkes-Barre.
Gardner punched Bentley in the back of the head. Bentley never regained consciousness, and he died the next day after doctors said he was brain-dead.
Police said the fight was the end result of an earlier incident in which Gardner, also known as “Zock,” claimed he was robbed of drugs and money.
The two met by chance outside the grocery store later that day, Vough said.
“Is that correct?” Burke asked Gardner.
“Yes, your honor,” Gardner replied.
Gardner was scheduled to stand trial on Oct. 5 after he pleaded not guilty to the charges at an arraignment in recent months.
Bentley’s girlfriend, Stacey Kammer, testified at the preliminary hearing that she was with Bentley and a friend when they stopped at the store to buy food.
“I heard (Bentley) say ‘I’m sorry’ to Mr. Gardner. I got out of the car to defend (Bentley). That’s when Mr. Gardner punched (Bentley) in the head,” Kammer testified.
Kammer said she had been dating Bentley for nearly a year. County Coroner John Corcoran said Bentley died from blunt head trauma caused by a fist.
Gardner, who is currently jailed at the county prison, also pleaded guilty to a charge of possession with intent to deliver heroin Friday. That charge stems from an Oct. 10 incident in Nanticoke.
Police said Gardner and a few other men were pushing a disabled car in Nanticoke. Vough said a small bag of heroin was found at Gardner’s feet, and when police approached, they found four more bags in his hand.
Gardner will be required to pay restitution to Bentley’s family as well as prosecution costs when he is sentenced.

9/5/2009
Cops: Pair admit to stealing purses
Nanticoke police say homeless couple took items from cars parked near grocery stores.
jmarckini@timesleader.com

A homeless pair confessed to police they stole purses from cars parked near grocery stores to support their heroin addiction.
Jason R. Edwards, 27, and Tanya Karasinski, 23, were captured Thursday in Nanticoke by city police after allegedly attempting to snatch a purse from a vehicle in front of Fetch’s Market in Plymouth.
The duo confessed to three other purse snatchings near shopping centers on the same day in Edwardsville, Wyoming and Shavertown.
Edwards and Karasinski were stopped about one block away from Weis Markets in Nanticoke, where they were spotted leaving in a stolen Pontiac Grand Am, police said.
Police said they found purses, wax paper used to package heroin, metal spoons and hypodermic needles in the vehicle.
Karasinski, who initially gave officers a false name, was a fugitive wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service for allegedly fleeing after previously being arrested by the U.S. Secret Service.
Edwards told police he took the car so he could get around and have a place to sleep, according to arrest papers. He also confessed to snatching purses near Edwardsville West Side Mall, Gerrity’s Market, Wyoming, and Thomas’ Market in Shavertown, according to police.
Police said Karasinski corroborated the purse thefts but maintained she had no idea that the vehicle was stolen.
They were arraigned and charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle, receiving stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Edwards and Karasinski were jailed at Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $20,000 and $10,000 bail, respectively.
Preliminary hearings have been scheduled for Sept. 8.

9/4/2009
Police: Man injures pregnant girlfriend
Floyd Powell, 25, of Nanticoke, also facing unrelated burglary charges.
elewis@timesleader.com

Police accused a man of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend Monday night and receiving more than $3,000 in stolen property in July.
Police allege Floyd Powell, 25, kicked and punched Shaqkita Welch during an argument in their apartment on East Washington Street. Welch is four months pregnant and was treated at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital because of her pregnancy, police said.
Police Capt. William Shultz said Welch had informed police that the alleged assault didn’t harm her unborn child.
Police further allege Powell took part with Jesse James Hartman, 23, in stealing items during burglaries from several apartments on East Union Street, where they then resided, on July 14. Several items were found in a vehicle commonly driven by Powell, police allege.
Hartman is facing several counts of burglary, criminal trespass and conspiracy, according to the office of District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke.
Powell was arraigned on Thursday on two counts of simple assault, and one count each of aggravated assault of an unborn child, recklessly endangering another person and harassment. He was separately arraigned on a single count of receiving stolen property.
Powell was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $20,000 total bail.
According to the criminal complaints:
Welch told police she was arguing with Powell inside their apartment when he destroyed a television and her cell phone. She claimed Powell kicked and punched her in the stomach two or three times and struck her in the face.
Welch left the apartment and Powell followed her outside, where he continued to yell at her. She reentered the apartment and locked the door, which Powell kicked in, the criminal complaint says.
Powell then took off in Welch’s Jeep, police alleged.
Welch told police she wanted her vehicle returned and didn’t want Powell arrested. Shultz said police pursued the charges because of Welch’s pregnancy.
Police allege in the criminal complaints that they found various tools and other items stolen from apartments on East Union Street on July 14 in a Chevrolet Blazer that Powell commonly drives.
Powell denied he took part in the burglaries and claimed the SUV was stolen, according to the criminal complaint.
Preliminary hearings on the separate charges are tentatively scheduled on Sept. 29 before Whittaker.

9/4/2009
A Nanticoke man was sentenced Thursday to two to four years in prison on several drug-related charges for the sale of heroin throughout the greater Nanticoke area.
Times Leader

Joshua Flaherty, 33, of East Grand Street, was sentenced on six counts of delivery of a controlled substance by county Judge Hugh Mundy. Flaherty pleaded guilty to the charges in June, and was ordered to pay nearly $700 in restitution costs.
According to court records, on Feb. 12, Flaherty sold suspected heroin to a police informant. One day later, Flaherty sold more heroin to a police informant, as well as on Feb. 14 and 15.
Police searched Flaherty’s Grand Street home on a warrant on Feb. 16, and found $350 and 39 packets of heroin, totaling 9.8 grams, under the bathroom sink.
On that day, Flaherty told police he participated in selling heroin on each occasion it was sold to a police informant and that he gave most of the proceeds of sales to a man named “Junior.” Flaherty told police he sold drugs to satisfy his heroin addiction, to pay for rent and to support his family.

9/2/2009
ATV-riding vandals hit Earth Conservancy land
Spokeswoman says it was worst damage ever at an agency reclamation site.
rsweeney@timesleader.com

Over the weekend, vandals created the worst damage that has ever occurred at an Earth Conservancy reclamation project, setting the site straddling Hanover Township and Nanticoke back perhaps a month and costing thousands of dollars to repair.
People riding on all-terrain vehicles broke into what is called the silt-pond reclamation site off Middle Road on the edge of Nanticoke by cutting through a chain-link fence, said Jacqueline Dickman, the conservancy’s director of public affairs and development.
A stretch of 150 feet of the fence was then torn down, and ATVs were driven through the property, creating deep ruts. Bales of hay also were cut open and strewn about and burned, she said.
“We probably had about $300,000 into the reclamation site to date,” she said, but now the fence must be replaced, the ground re-leveled, the grass reseeded and the protective layer of hay scattered over it again.
“The damage this time really surpasses anything we’ve seen in the past,” Dickman said. “You might think that tearing up the grass isn’t a big deal, but considering the amount of work that went into the site … it’s really disheartening.”
The Nanticoke and Hanover Township police departments responded to calls about the damage, and at least one fire department was dispatched, though firefighters ended up allowing the fire to burn out on its own.
The conservancy is considering offering a reward for information about the vandals. Anyone with such information should call the office at 823-3445.
Dickman said the conservancy is well aware of the potential for damage at its sites since they’re usually rural, but she hoped that bringing publicity to this incident might help people be more vigilant.
“There’s always a concern that our reclamation projects are going to have damage. It’s becoming a chronic problem,” she said. “It’s definitely something that happens with regularity, and I think our hope is by bringing this to people’s attention, people keep their eyes open for problems at this site and others.”
The site, which had been a repository for mine waste, is being cleaned and turned into an open green space through a federal brownfields grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

9/2/2009
Theft trial next for jailed rapist
Currently serving 14-28 years, area man withdraws guilty plea in alleged theft of fuel.
sdelazio@timesleader.com

A Nanticoke man, currently serving 14 to 28 years in state prison on kidnapping and rape charges, withdrew a guilty plea to an unrelated theft case and will now stand trial.
Citing he wanted to retain new counsel, Joseph Eckrote, 49, asked Luzerne County Judge Chester Muroski on Tuesday to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea in a case in which police said he stole approximately 300 gallons of diesel fuel from a bulldozer.
Eckrote will now be put on the next trial list in October while he waits to hire a private attorney. Muroski said Eckrote, if convicted, could face a substantial sentence because of his lengthy criminal record.
Eckrote is currently represented by attorney John Sobota.
According to court records, police claim Eckrote stole approximately 300 gallons of fuel from a bulldozer on April 6, 2008.
Police said Eckrote told them he drove his truck to the piece of heavy equipment, which was parked along Route 11 in Plymouth Township, pried off the fuel cap, poked a hole in the fuel screen and siphoned off the diesel with a garden hose.
Eckrote, who entered his guilty plea in July, was then ordered to pay $1,330 in restitution costs to Hanover Nursery for the damage and fuel.
In May, Eckrote was sentenced to 14 to 28 years in state prison in the kidnapping and rape of a woman who was left stranded in the woods.
A county jury found Eckrote guilty on Jan. 7 of kidnapping, rape, robbery, simple assault, two counts of terroristic threats and a summary count of harassment.
In March, Eckrote was determined to be a sexually violent predator by the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board.

8/29/2009
A West Nanticoke man was arraigned Friday on burglary and other related charges after police said he broke into a man’s home Thursday.
Times Leader

Nathan Ryan Norcross, 18, of East Poplar Street, was arraigned on charges of burglary and two counts of criminal trespassing. He was tentatively scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 1 at 10 a.m. in Nanticoke.
According to police, they were called to 412 East Ridge Street for the report of a break-in. Police said they saw a ladder against a garage and a person on the ladder. People said they heard someone in the garage and tried to get in, and startled the person inside, later identified as Norcross.
Police said Norcross tried to break out a window on the second floor to escape, but was apprehended.

8/29/2009
A city man was charged with assaulting his girlfriend after she would not let him have a night out with his friends, police said.
Times Leader

Joshua I. Ruminski, 23, of 202 W. Noble St., was arraigned Thursday morning on single counts of simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct, court records show. He was released on $5,000 unsecured bail.
Nanticoke police alleged in arrest papers that Ruminski grabbed Ashley Cyron’s neck, tore her shirt during an argument and then kneed her in the ribs in a parking lot near Lincoln Avenue.
Officers spoke with Ruminski who told them he wanted to go out with his friends but Cyron wouldn’t let him, the criminal complaint states. Cyron told police that she wanted Ruminski to spend time with her and their toddler.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 1.

8/28/2009
A city woman was arrested for allegedly throwing a picture frame at her daughter’s head and pushing another relative in a bathtub during a domestic dispute on Wednesday night.
Times Leader

Anja Dunaj, 31, of 257 Apollo Circle, was arraigned Thursday on two counts each of simple assault and harassment, court records show. She was released on $5,000 unsecured bail.
Police allege Dunaj hit her daughter, Natalie Shaffer, before throwing the frame at her head, and when Shaffer’s great-grandmother, Jadwij Kosienski, tried to intervene she was pushed by Dunaj in the bathtub at their home around 7 p.m.
Kosienski told police Dunaj also grabbed her by her throat and poked her in her left eye, arrest papers state.
A preliminary hearing has been tentatively scheduled for Sept. 1.

8/28/2009
District Judge Donald Whittaker dismissed charges
Times Leader

District Judge Donald Whittaker dismissed charges of burglary, criminal trespass, intimidation of witnesses or victims and retaliation against witnesses or victims against Shallon Gallmon, 31, of Plymouth, during a preliminary hearing on Tuesday.
Plymouth police accused Gallmon of forcing her way into an Orchard Street residence and threatening Jennifer Ridall with a chain on June 12, according to the criminal complaint.

8/25/2009
Nanticoke police arrested a drunken man early Monday morning for breaking into a vehicle at Rear 214 E. Main St., police said.

Officers responding to the call spotted Anthony S. Brozusky, 24, hiding between two vehicles at the intersection of Railroad and North Chestnut streets. Brozusky, of 1 Loomis St., is charged with receiving stolen property and public drunkenness. When police encountered Brozusky, he was in possession of an electric razor and loose change. Asked why he was carrying an electric razor at 2:15 a.m., Brozusky said he "wants to look good for the girls," according to the charges filed by officers Richard Vietz and Lee Makowski.
The owner of the vehicle outside Rear 214 E. Main St. said the razor was stolen from his car.

8/25/2009
Gun-theft suspects in trouble previously
Hanover Twp. men allegedly took 33 handguns from sporting goods store.
elewis@timesleader.com

Two Hanover Township men charged with stealing handguns from a sporting goods store last Wednesday have previous criminal records.
Raymond Rittenhouse, 22, and Michael Graboske, 46, were captured Friday night and charged with taking 33 handguns from Nimrod Haven on the Sans Souci Parkway in Hanover Township
They were captured after they arrived at a South Market Street residence in Nanticoke to sell two of the stolen guns, police allege.
After their arrests, a district judge approved a rare night-time search warrant for Graboske’s trailer on South Main Street, Hanover Township, where authorities allegedly recovered 29 of the 33 stolen handguns. Police suspect two other handguns were traded for crack in Wilkes-Barre.
It was the second time Graboske’s residence has been searched, according to court records.
Authorities with the state Office of Attorney General’s Luzerne County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at Graboske’s residence on Aug. 7, 1997, after Graboske sold cocaine and heroin to informants in July 1997. Graboske was convicted on various drug-related offenses in March 1998 and was sentenced to five to 10 years in state prison, according to court records.
Rittenhouse is serving a probation sentence, which was imposed on Oct. 31 on charges he took part in stealing two purses, according to court records.
Hanover Township police said Rittenhouse and another man stole a woman’s purse in the parking lot of the Hanover Mall, Sans Souci Parkway, and Nanticoke police said he stole a purse from an elderly woman on South Prospect Street. Both thefts happened on Oct. 15, 2007, according to arrest records.
Last Wednesday, police allege, Rittenhouse and Graboske rammed a stolen car through the front doors of Nimrod Haven at about 4:50 a.m. Police said they used a metal pipe to smash glass gun cases, loaded a duffel bag with handguns and sped away in a dark-colored truck.
About 25 hours after the burglary, authorities learned the men wanted to sell some of the stolen guns, according to arrest records.
Rittenhouse and Graboske were kept under surveillance after Nanticoke police learned at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday that the pair arranged to sell two handguns, a 9mm and a .45-caliber.
Police said the men had told others that they had burglarized the store and were selling the stolen guns.
Graboske and Rittenhouse were charged with burglary, criminal trespass, theft, receiving stolen property, criminal mischief and criminal conspiracy. Graboske was further charged with persons not to possess firearms.
They are jailed at the county prison for lack of $30,000 bail each.
Preliminary hearings are tentatively scheduled on Sept. 1 before District Judge Joseph Halesey in Hanover Township.

8/23/2009
Police arrest two in Nimrod burglary
They are accused of stealing 33 guns from Hanover Twp. sporting goods store.
jmarckini@timesleader.com

HANOVER TWP. – Two township men were arrested Friday night and charged with stealing handguns from a sporting goods store earlier this week.
Raymond T. Rittenhouse, 22, and Michael S. Graboske, 46, are accused of stealing 33 guns in connection with the break-in at Nimrod Haven Sporting Goods, 1757 Sans Souci Parkway, on Wednesday, police said.
Police Friday night arrested the pair on South Market Street in Nanticoke, where they allegedly sold two of the stolen firearms to another individual, arrest papers state.
A search of their home later that evening at 3144 S. Main St. resulted in the recovery of 29 handguns stolen from the sporting good store, according to the criminal complaint filed by Nanticoke and Hanover Township police departments.
According to arrest papers: On Wednesday township police responded around 4:50 a.m. to Nimrod Haven for a report of a burglary in progress.
Police were informed that a vehicle had been driven through the front doors and two men dressed in dark clothing were leaving the store. Another vehicle fled the area, possibly heading north.
Surveillance video revealed one man entered with a pipe and proceeded to smash the glass cabinets while the another suspect removed several handguns and placed them into a bag.
The two men were arrested after Graboske sold two handguns to a confidential informant for $700 at an apartment in Nanticoke Friday night, police said.
Rittenhouse and Graboske were both charged with burglary, criminal mischief and criminal conspiracy. Graboske also was charged with illegal sale of a firearm.
Federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also participated in the arrests.
The defendants were jailed at Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $30,000 straight bail each.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 1 before District Judge Joseph A. Halesey of Hanover Township.

8/18/2009
Cops: Woman uses chain in sock in threat
Latest charges vs. Plymouth resident include retaliation and intimidation of a witness.
elewis@timesleader.com

A woman was charged by Plymouth police on Monday with threatening a neighbor who allegedly witnessed an assault in June.
Police in arrest records accused Shallon Gallmon, 31, of Orchard Street, of forcing her way into a residence on Orchard Street and threatening Jennifer Ridall with a chain wrapped in a sock on June 12.
A day earlier, on June 11, Gallmon had a dispute with Ridall and Stephanie Velders outside her residence where Velders was allegedly struck by a vehicle driven by Gallmon.
Gallmon was arraigned by District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke on Monday on charges of burglary, criminal trespass, intimidation of witness or victim and retaliation against witness or victim. She was released without bail.
According to the criminal complaint and court records:
Ridall told police on June 12 that she was in her apartment when she heard loud banging and Gallmon screaming to be let inside.
Ridall alleged Gallmon forced her way in and begun yelling at her for a prior incident. Gallmon swung an object at her that police said was a chain inside a sock.
Gallmon was arrested without incident at Ridall’s apartment on a warrant for the June 11 alleged assault with the vehicle.
In that case, Ridall and Velders said Gallmon was blaming them and other neighbors because Luzerne County Children and Youth caseworkers were at her home on June 11.
Velders claimed, according to arrest records, she saw Gallmon place two children in a vehicle and fail to secure them in a safety seat.
Gallmon yelled to Velders and Ridall, “I’m taking my kids out of state; I’ll deal with this later,” arrest records say.
Police alleged in arrest records that Gallmon threatened to run over Velders and Ridall and reversed her vehicle at a high rate of speed. Ridall jumped out of the way but Velders was struck, according to arrest records. Velders suffered arm and shoulder injuries, police said.
Police said Gallmon sped away with her two children and was arrested after she forced her way into Ridall’s residence on June 12.
Gallmon is facing two counts of endangering the welfare of children, simple assault and terroristic threats, and one count each of accidents involving injury, disorderly conduct and driving while operating privilege is suspended in Luzerne County Court for the June 11 incident.
A preliminary hearing on the latest charges is tentatively scheduled on Aug. 25 before Whittaker.

8/16/2009
Times Leader - Court Notes

District Judge Donald Whittaker dismissed charges of endangering the welfare of children, simple assault and reckless endangerment against Joshua James Watkins, 22, of Nanticoke, during a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
Nanticoke police had accused Watkins of assaulting his girlfriend and her parents during a dispute at a home on Coal Street and speeding away with her child on July 24, according to the criminal complaint.

8/15/2009
Times Leader
A Nanticoke man was charged with selling a bundle of heroin to undercover officers on Thursday night.

John Chernowski Jr., 24, of 377 S. Walnut St., was arraigned Friday on 14 counts of felony possession with intent to deliver heroin, seven counts of possession of the drug and three counts of criminal use of a communication facility.
He was jailed at Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $20,000 bail.
Borough police allege in arrest papers that Chernowski sold the bundle, equivalent to seven packets of heroin, to undercover officers on East Main Street around 8 p.m. Thursday.

8/8/2009
Times Leader
A Jamaican man was arrested on drug charges and alleged firearm violations after a crash on Thursday night.

Mario M. Whyne, 20, who has an address at 240 Park Lane, Hamilton, N.J., was arraigned Friday on charges of possession with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance, firearms not to be carried without a license and possession of a weapon.
Whyne told police he was not a resident of the United States but has applied for citizenship. He was jailed at county prison for lack of $20,000 straight bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
Nanticoke police responded around 9 p.m. to a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Main and Market streets. Several witnesses and the driver of the second vehicle told police that two or three men with dreadlocks ran east on East Main Street from a 1996 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
One of the men, later identified as Whyne, was stopped near South Walnut Street.
Whyne told police he was a 17-year-old from Trenton, N.J., who moved to the United States about a year ago. A fully loaded revolver and suspected marijuana was found in his shoulder pack.
A preliminary hearing has been tentatively scheduled for Aug. 11.

8/7/2009
State prison for man who issued nearly $21,000 in bad checks
elewis@timesleader.com

A man who issued nearly $21,000 in bad checks at various businesses was sentenced to state prison.
Erik Masaitis, 25, of South Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre, was sentenced to 2 years and 7 months to five years and five months on seven counts of bad checks, six counts of theft, and one count each of robbery, possessing instruments of crime, false identification to law enforcement, resisting arrest and criminal attempt.
Police in several departments, including a few businesses that filed private criminal complaints, charged Masaitis with purchasing items with checks that had insufficient funds from December to April, according to court records.
Masaitis was also accused by Nanticoke police with robbing a service station on North Market Street on April 5, and by Swoyersville police with possessing a knife while they were investigating a robbery at a beer distributor on Main Street, Luzerne on May 3.
Masaitis told police, according to arrest records, that he was purchasing items from businesses knowing he had insufficient funds in his checking account. He then sold the items for money to support a heroin addiction, according to arrest records.

8/5/2009
Store owner pleads to federal gun violations
Nanticoke businessman and co-defendant in Russia charged with gun smuggling
Times Leader

The owner of a Nanticoke sporting goods store pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges of conspiring to illegally export military equipment to Russia.
Mark Komoroski, owner of D & R Sports Center, entered a plea to five counts of conspiracy before Senior U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik.
Komoroski and a co-defendant, Sergey Korznikov of Moskow, Russia, were charged in January 2008 with conspiring to smuggle various equipment, including rifle scopes, firearm magazines and face shields to be sold to unknown persons in Russia.
Komoroski pleaded guilty to conspiracy to export defense articles without State Department approval.
He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, mail fraud, smuggling and to conspiring to make false entries into records kept by a gun store.
Korznikov has not entered a plea. The case against him is pending.

7/29/2009
A 49-year-old Nanticoke man who is serving a 14-to-28-year sentence on kidnapping and rape charges pleaded guilty Tuesday to an unrelated theft charge.
Times Leader

Joseph Eckrote pleaded guilty to a charge of theft by unlawful taking before Luzerne County Court Judge Chester Muroski. Eckrote will be sentenced on Sept. 1.
According to court records, on April 6, 2008, police said, Eckrote stole approximately 300 gallons of diesel fuel from a bulldozer.
Eckrote was ordered to pay $1,330 in restitution costs to Hanover Nursery for the damage and fuel.
Eckrote was found guilty recently by a Luzerne County jury in the kidnap and rape of a woman who was left stranded in the woods.

7/27/2009
Man arrested on charges he assaulted woman while holding infant
elewis@timesleader.com

Police arrested a man on charges he assaulted a woman while holding a 6-month old infant on Sunday.
Joshua James Watkins, 22, of Coal Street, was charged with three counts each of simple assault and harassment, two counts of reckless endangerment, and one count each of endangering the welfare of children, accidents involving damage to vehicle and driving an unregistered vehicle. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $7,500 bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
Brittany Murtha told police her boyfriend, Watkins, was arguing with her for much of Sunday, and wanted to use their rent month to buy prescription drugs. Murtha claimed Watkins shoved her into a wall, and she locked herself in a bathroom. He forced open the door, the criminal complaint says.
Murtha alleged, according to the criminal complaint, Watkins was holding their infant when he assaulted her.
Watkins fled the home with the infant that he placed inside a vehicle. Murtha attempted to remove the infant as Watkins sped away forcing Murtha to fall to the ground, the criminal complaint says.
Watkins struck a fence on Coal Street, and was captured by Kingston police.
Watkins claimed he fled the home with the infant because Murtha's family arrived carrying bats and pipes, according to the criminal complaint.
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on Aug. 4.

7/24/2009
A man was charged by police on Thursday with stealing metal beams from a business and tools from a vehicle.
Times Leader

Ralph C. Galicki, 37, of West Grand Street, was charged with three counts of theft, two counts of receiving stolen property, and one count each of accidents involving damage to vehicle, trespass by vehicle and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $10,000 bail.
According to the criminal complaints:
Galicki stole approximately 24 metal beams valued at $100 a piece from Eclipse Fleet Service on West Union Street on July 2. Galicki transported the beams that varied from 10 feet to 15 feet in his vehicle to his home, the criminal complaint says.
Police said they traced Galicki’s travels from the business to his home by wet tire prints and broken glass.
In an unrelated case, police allege Galicki stole tools from a construction vehicle parked across from his residence on Wednesday.
Police obtained a search warrant for Galicki’s residence and recovered various hand tools and accessories, according to the search warrant inventory sheet.
The criminal complaints alleged police found a syringe and a spoon in Galicki’s pocket.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 28.

7/23/2009
Wing case charges dropped
elewis@timesleader.com

Linda Plews said she only wanted to speak to the manager at Weis/Mr. Z’s grocery store in Nanticoke about the price of lobsters.
The next thing she knew, Plews claimed, she was being confronted by a Nanticoke police officer and charged with stealing a chicken wing from the store’s deli.
“I don’t steal,” Plews, 53, said after charges of retail theft, defiant trespass and resisting arrest were dismissed Wednesday during a preliminary hearing in Central Court.
A district judge dismissed the charges, including disorderly conduct and public drunkenness, when the investigating officer, Amos Vanderhoff, failed to appear at the hearing.
Detective Capt. William Shultz said Vanderhoff has been on medical leave since injuring his foot arresting a suspect in an unrelated case several weeks ago.
Plews, of West Nanticoke, was charged by Vanderhoff on April 26 with allegedly stealing the chicken wing and causing a disturbance in the store.
She called the charges a “vendetta” against her because, she claimed, she was cleared of drunken driving charges filed against her by Nanticoke police.
According to Luzerne County Court records, state police at Wyoming and Kingston Township police filed separate drunken driving charges against Plews in June 2007 and October 2006, respectively.
She was sentenced in April 2008 to 60 days to one year, including a two-year license suspension, on the two DUI cases, court records say.
Plews said she was in the store because it was having a special on lobsters. When she got into a dispute with a store clerk about the price, she asked to speak to the manager. She said the clerk called police instead.
That’s when trouble began, Plews said.
“I put the chicken wing on my purse and walked over to the salad bar where I always put the chicken wing in the container,” Plews said. “Then Vanderhoff comes up and tells me to leave the store.”
Plews claimed she was walking out of the store when Vanderhoff approached her from behind and grabbed her purse.
“When you’re walking and someone comes up from behind you and grabs your purse, you’re going to react,” Plews said. “I didn’t know who grabbed my purse. I did say, ‘You’re a (expletives)’ to (Vanderhoff).”
Shultz said that when Vanderhoff returns to work, they’ll meet with the District Attorney’s Office to determine if the charges against Plews are to be re-filed.

7/22/2009
Hanover Township woman charged with driving stolen vehicle
elewis@timesleader.com

A Hanover Township woman was charged by city police with driving a stolen vehicle on Tuesday.
Dawn Linette Browski, 31, of Shawnee Avenue, was charged with receiving stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was arraigned Wednesday morning and released on $5,000 bail.
Police said they spotted a stolen 2005 Saturn Vue traveling north on South River Street at about 3:30 p.m. The vehicle, owned by David Lewis, of Nanticoke, was reported stolen to the Nanticoke Police Department on Monday.
Police stopped the driver, identified as Browski, in the area of North River and West Jackson streets.
Browski told police, according to the criminal complaint, that she was returning the vehicle. Police said Browski was traveling in the opposite direction of Nanticoke when she was stopped.
Police said they allegedly found syringes in Browski's purse.
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on July 29.

7/15/2009
Times Leader
A Nanticoke woman was sentenced Monday to two to four years in county prison on charges she sold and delivered heroin.

Erica Neyhard, 25, of West Main Street, was sentenced on two counts of possession with intent to deliver by county Judge Joseph Augello. Neyhard pleaded guilty in June.
According to court records, on Aug. 10 Nanticoke police observed Neyhard in the process of selling heroin to a man living on East Noble Street. When Neyhard was searched, police said, they found .3 grams of heroin, needles and a plastic spoon with residue on it. Neyhard’s home was also searched, police said, and bricks of heroin, money and used and unused needles were also found.
Later that month, on Aug. 28, Neyhard was put under surveillance and police said they observed her selling heroin several times throughout the day.

7/15/2009
Police arrest man for Nanticoke home invasion
Bob Kalinowski - Citizens' Voice

Nanticoke police have nabbed the man they say committed a home invasion this weekend on Agostina Drive in Lexington Village.
Police say Robert Joel Ohrwashel, 41, cut open a neighbor’s screen window with a knife and entered her home around 1 a.m. Sunday looking to steal money.
Ohrwashel is charged with burglary, simple assault, trespassing, possessing instruments of a crime, and criminal mischief. He was jailed this morning in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $30,000 cash bail.
According to arrest papers:
Ohrwashel, of 23 Agostina Drive, broke into the home at 13 Agostina Drive wearing mostly black clothing — a hooded sweatshirt, cargo pants, a hat and gloves — along with a red bandana over his face. He was armed with a knife.
The victim said she was awakened by the noise and then heard her dogs growling. She got out of bed and saw Ohrwashel in her bedroom. She confronted him and they fell to the ground while fighting.
The woman told police she bit him and he bit her. She repeatedly screamed “get out.” He then crawled toward a bedroom window and exited, injuring himself.
When police arrived, they interviewed the victim. Police found a knife in the room. The woman became distraught, saying she didn’t know the man was armed and didn’t see the knife.
State police were called to obtain a DNA sample from the woman’s bite wound.
On Tuesday, Ohrwashel admitted the crime to counselors while at Community Counseling Services at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, police say. He said he was drinking alcohol heavily and decided to go looking for “petty cash.” He said he brought a knife, to use as a tool, not a weapon.
Police then interviewed Ohrwashel. He said he cut a hole in a bedroom window with a knife to forcibly enter the victim’s home. He said the woman attacked him and he fled the home, scraping his legs on the window sill.
Investigators said Ohrwashel had a bite mark on his finger and injuries to his legs. Forensic evidence was also consistent with the interviews with the woman and Ohrwashel, police said.
Ohrwashel told police he is a registered nurse who has been on disability since March.
He is bipolar with a history of mental illness, police said.

7/13/2009
Nanticoke police investigate early morning home invasion
Erin Moody - Citizens' Voice

Police in Nanticoke are investigating an early morning break-in Sunday in Lexington Village on Agostino Street.
The unnamed victim told police someone entered the residence through a bedroom window while everyone was sleeping.
According to police, the victim reported they were asleep when their dogs began barking. The victim looked out the window and saw nothing, but when they turned around to check the rest of the home, they were confronted by a person in a mask.
The victim and the suspect struggled before the suspect fled through a spare bedroom window. Police believe the suspect forced entry through the same window he exited and fled on foot. Police arrived on the scene at about 1:05 a.m.
The suspect is described as a young, white male, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing about 170 pounds. He was wearing a dark-colored shirt, blue jeans and a dark-colored stocking mask. The suspect was armed with a knife, which was left at the scene.
Pennsylvania State Police at Wyoming's Forensic Unit assisted at the scene. Investigators are asking anyone who sees anything suspicious to call 911. Anyone with information should call Nanticoke police at 735-2200.

7/12/2009
Cops say teen shot, injured 3
Police allege Ryan Garvey fired shotgun at two other teens and adult in Nanticoke confrontation.
jmarckini@timesleader.com

City police arrested an 18-year-old at his home in Hunlock Creek early Saturday in connection with a late-night shooting on Friday.
Ryan J. Garvey, of 374 Misdale Road, was charged with three counts each of aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment, terroristic threats and stalking and one count of possessing instruments of crime, according to arrest papers.
A fight over a girl at a bazaar in Sugar Notch led to alleged threats and gunfire, police said.
Police allege Garvey fired a shot from a shotgun at two teenage boys, both 16, and a mother of one of the teens in the area of South and South Prospect streets around 11 p.m.
The three sustained minor injuries when they were sprayed by pellets from the shotgun.
“Because of the distance between all of them, they walked away with superficial injuries,” said Detective Capt. William Shultz of Nanticoke police.
Police spent several hours searching for Garvey, who at one point fled into the woods in Newport Township. Garvey was later located by global positioning on his cell phone, the detective said.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police responded around 10:55 p.m. to the area of 1108 S. Prospect St. for a report of a 1997 Jeep circling a home of one of the teens in Nanticoke.
Robert Cook told police that he was at the Sugar Notch bazaar with several friends when Garvey called the cell phone of Kayla Tarnowski, Garvey’s girlfriend, and asked her if she was with one of his friends. He had her give the phone to Cook, and Garvey then threatened Cook. Garvey made several threatening phone calls and was observed several hours later circling Cook’s home six times.
A short time later, Garvey fired a shot, hitting Robert, his mother, Kirsten Cook, 44, and Dominick Rogo and then drove off.
Police collected evidence, including one shell casing, from the roadway at the 1100 block of South Prospect Street. After fleeing, Garvey made numerous phone calls threatening to harm the teens and himself.
Garvey was arraigned Saturday before District Judge Joseph Carmody in West Pittston and remanded to Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $25,000 straight bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 21 in Central Court.

7/7/2009
Times Leader
City police reported the following:

Mailee Stone, of West Union Street, recently reported someone threw a rock that smashed the rear window on her vehicle.

Police said they arrested Michael A. Foschini Jr., 19, of West Main Street, on charges he assaulted his father and mother on Thursday.
Foschini was charged with six counts of disorderly conduct, two counts each of simple assault, harassment and criminal mischief and a single count of resisting arrest. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $1,500 bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police said Foschini was upset that his brother removed a radio from his vehicle. He denied commands to stop yelling profanities and jumped on a Ford Mustang owned by his mother, Carol Raush.
Police allege in the criminal complaint Foschini jumped off the vehicle and charged at his parents, grabbing Raush and his stepfather, David Raush Jr..
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on July 9 in Central Court.

Police said they arrested Duane Krommes, 29, of East Broad Street, on charges he assaulted his wife on Sunday.
Krommes was charged with simple assault, stalking and harassment. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $7,500 bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police said Krommes was arguing with his wife, Clarice Krommes, when he allegedly pushed her into a wall and threw a telephone at her.
Police said Clarice Krommes suffered injuries to her chest.
Krommes claimed he tripped over his shoes and fell into his wife, the criminal complaint says.
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on July 13 in Central Court.

Gwen Brown, of Garfield Street, recently reported a flat screen televison, a video game system, video games and accessories, and a music player were stolen during a burglary at her residence.

Police said William Thomas, 50, of Coal Street, Nanticoke, was charged with public drunkenness after he was found intoxicated in the 500 block of South Market Street.

Catherine Holminski, of West Main Street, recently reported Carol Shotwell, 37, of East Grand Street, Nanticoke, jumped into her swimming pool without permission, police said.

Michael Stankiewicz, of State Street, recently reported a wheel was stolen from his vehicle.

Police said a 15-year-old boy and a 15-year old girl were recently cited for violating the city’s curfew ordinance when they were observed on East Union Street at night.

Arthur Owens, of East Union Street, recently reported someone stole his lawnmower.

Police said two 14-year-old girls and a 15-year-old girl were recently cited for violating the city’s curfew ordinance when they were found at night at Arch and Walnut streets.

William Larson, of West Grand Street, recently reported someone slashed the rear tires on his vehicle.

Jason Chamberlain, of East Ridge Street, recently reported someone smashed a window at his residence.

7/2/2009
Times Leader
City police reported the following:

Eric Shaw, of West Church Street, recently reported someone smashed the window on her vehicle with a rock.

Daniel Edwards, 26, of West Main Street, Nanticoke, was cited with public drunkenness after he was recently found lying on the sidewalk near Burger King, police said.

Dennis Ardoline, 44, of East Union Street, Nanticoke, was cited with public drunkenness after he walked into a utility pole on South Walnut Street.

Ronald Novakoski, of East Green Street, reported someone threw fireworks at his residence, damaging a carpet and exterior siding.

6/24/2009
Times Leader
City police reported the following:

Police arrested Michael Anthony Rosario, 19, of Glen Lyon, after he was allegedly found with pill tablets without a prescription on Monday.
Rosario was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and loitering and prowling at night. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $10,000 bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police were watching a known drug house when they observed Rosario walking in the area at about 11:40 p.m. Rosario noticed police in the area and attempted to escape by running behind homes.
Police found Rosario hiding behind an apartment building. He claimed he was walking to Glen Lyon, the criminal complaint says.
Police allege in the criminal complaint they found approximately $400 and 10 Vicodin tablets in his pockets.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled on July 1 in Central Court.

Barbara Robaczewski, of Park Street, recently reported items were stolen from her vehicle when it was parked near her home.

Sherry Karvaski, of West South Street, recently reported a digital camera and a DVD movie was stolen from her home, police said.

Nathan Zannetti, of East Union Street, recently reported a stereo was stolen from his vehicle when it was parked near his home, police said.

John Jackolski, of West Union Street, recently reported three tires were stolen from the rear of his home.

Brian Moore, of Loomis Street, recently reported someone attempted to force open the doors on his vehicle when it was parked near his home, police said.

6/23/2009
A man was arrested by police on Sunday for allegedly assaulting his wife.

Stephen Minsavage, 46, of South Market Street, Nanticoke, was charged with simple assault and harassment. He was arraigned by District Judge Fred Pierantoni in Pittston and released on $5,000 unsecured bail.
Police alleged Minsavage assaulted his wife during an argument at their home on June 20. Police said the woman suffered facial injuries, according to the criminal complaint.
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on June 30 in Central Court.

6/16/2009
Times Leader
City police reported the following:

William J. Thomas, 50, of Bear Creek Boulevard, Wilkes-Barre, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly assaulting a police officer and attempting to break into an ex-girlfriend’s residence.
Thomas was charged with two counts of criminal mischief, and one count each of aggravated assault, simple assault, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. He remained jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on Monday for lack of $25,000 bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police said Thomas attempted to break into the residence of Tammy Maslowski, of Enterprise Street, at about 1:12 a.m. Saturday. Police said Thomas damaged a lock on a screen door and yelled obscenities at Maslowski.
Thomas allegedly struggled with officers when he was handcuffed and threatened to bite officers. Police also allege that Thomas kicked an officer’s leg.
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on June 22 in Central Court.

Kelci Pamela Jones, 20, of South Market Street, Nanticoke, is facing burglary and theft-related charges in connection with the theft of a video game system from a residence on South Market Street in April, police said.
Police allege in the criminal complaint that Jones entered the residence on April 9 and stole a video game system that she sold to a pawn shop in Hanover Township. Jones is further charged with criminal trespass and receiving stolen property.
The charges were filed with District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke on Monday. A preliminary hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

Christopher M. Benson, 19, of Nuangola, is facing charges of driving while under the influence of a controlled substance after a crash on South Prospect Street in April, police said.
Police allege in the criminal complaint that Benson, driving a Chevrolet Malibu, crashed into three parked vehicles at about 12:53 p.m. on April 30. Benson claimed he lost control of his vehicle when he struck a manhole cover.
Police allege in the criminal complaint that a chemical blood test revealed Benson was under the influence of several controlled substances, including hallucinogens, immediately after the crash.
The charges were filed on Monday with District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on July 21 in Central Court.

Police said Richard Conrad Gimbi, 52, of West Green Street, Nanticoke, was charged with drunken driving on Monday after a traffic stop in May.
Gimbi was stopped for passing through a red traffic signal at Kosciuszko and East Main streets, and driving in opposing traffic on South Market Street on May 23, according to the criminal complaint.
Police allege that a blood alcohol test revealed Gimbi had a BAC of 0.266 percent, more than three times the limit at which an adult driver in Pennsylvania is considered legally intoxicated.
Drunken driving and several vehicle offenses were filed on Monday with District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on July 21 in Central Court.

Police said Jeffrey D. Jones, 24, of West Poplar Street, Nanticoke, was recently cited with public drunkenness when he was found lying face down alongside of a road.

Police said Lee David Antonik, 33, of East Ridge Street, Nanticoke, was recently cited with harassment after Manfred Uding claimed he slapped him inside a bar.

Two stained glass windows were stolen recently from a residence in the 100 block of East Church Street.

Chad Fullerton, 23, of Apollo Circle, Nanticoke, was recently arrested for allegedly violating a protection from abuse order, police said.

A couple were charged on Saturday for allegedly assaulting one another, police said.
Eric Jason Roman, 34, and his girlfriend, Laura Ann Shulla, 29, both from East Green Street, Nanticoke, were charged with simple assault and harassment. They were jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $10,000 bail.
According to the criminal complaints:
Shulla claimed Roman assaulted her during an argument Friday night. Roman claimed he was taking a shower when Shulla assaulted him because he wouldn’t give her money. Police said Shulla had a minor facial injury.
Preliminary hearings are tentatively scheduled on June 22 in Central Court.

6/12/2009
Times Leader
City police reported the following:

A 14-year-old girl was recently cited with harassment after allegedly throwing a bottle at another female juvenile.

Two girls, ages 14 and 15, were recently cited with harassment after allegedly assaulting another female juvenile.

Stanley Bralczyk, 19, of Lee Mine Street, Nanticoke, was recently cited with operating an all-terrain vehicle without insurance on East Field Street.

Frank Isaac, of Nanticoke, recently reported his cell phone missing from a friend’s residence in the Apollo Circle apartment complex.

Anthony Stanley Brozusky, 23, of Loomis Street, Nanticoke, was charged Monday with allegedly assaulting a woman. Brozusky was charged with simple assault and harassment. He was released on $5,000 unsecured bail.
Anna Lipperini claimed Brozusky struck her in the face during an argument at his residence, according to the criminal complaint.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled on June 18 in Central Court.

6/11/2009
Times Leader
City police reported the following:

Joseph Antonik, of East Field Street; Brandy Hower, of West Union Street; Edward Glazenski, of East Field Street; Pamela Mulaski, of East Field Street; Juan Hartman, of East Field Street; Lauren Pockevich, of East Field Street; Carol Keber, of East Field Street; and Allison Knuczon, of South Chestnut Street, recently reported someone damaged their vehicles while they were parked near their homes.

Nancie Giberson, of State Street, Nanticoke, was recently cited with harassment and criminal trespass after she allegedly slapped a neighbor, police said.

Megan Richmond, of West South Street, recently reported her wallet was stolen from her residence.

Vince Balint, of West Noble Street, recently reported a global positioning system, a satellite radio, headphones and an iPod were stolen from his vehicle while it was parked near his home, police said.

6/6/2009
A city man has been arrested and charged in connection with a strong-arm robbery in mid-October
Times Leader

Jeffrey W. Arnott, 21, last known address 60 W. Green St., was arraigned Friday morning on counts of robbery, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, according to court records.
He was released on $1,000 unsecured bail.
Arnott was arrested on an outstanding warrant, police said.
He was an occupant in a vehicle during a traffic stop by Jackson Township police.
Nanticoke police alleged in arrest papers that Arnott held up a neighbor, Dwight Cole, by knife point and ordered Cole to give him all of his money at a West Green Street apartment on Oct. 14, 2008.
Cole handed over six $20 bills, police said.
A preliminary hearing has been tentatively scheduled for June 15 in Central Court.

6/4/2009
Times Leader
City police reported the following:

Arcangela Savallisch, of West Noble Street, recently reported someone stole a bicycle from her residence, police said.

Rose Swick, of South Chestnut Street, recently reported someone placed rocks on the steps to her front porch and dumped glass clippings and charcoal through the front door’s mail slot.

Anita Switzer, of East Union Street, recently reported her purse was missing from her residence, police said.

D’Andra Rasmus, of Gemini Street, recently reported her purse was stolen from her vehicle when it was parked near the Uni-Mart on East Main Street, police said.

Police said a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy were recently cited for violating the city’s curfew ordinance and underage drinking when they were seen standing near the Burger King, Main Street, early in the morning. Police said the 16-year-old was also cited for harassment.

Police said a 16-year-old girl was recently charged with disorderly conduct for throwing items at two people on East Main Street.

Police said Susan Price, 48, of East Green Street, is facing a harassment charge after Stephanie Danko, of Nanticoke, claimed she had left derogatory messages on her answering machine.

Joshua Ruminski, of West Noble Street, recently reported a key and money were stolen from his vehicle when it was parked near his home.

Police said James Hakim, of Wilkes-Barre, recently reported a donation jar for missing children was stolen from Pizza Bella. The jar was recovered on East Noble Street, police said.

A man and a woman were charged by police on Tuesday with assaulting one another.
Richard John Morris, 57, and Theresa Marie Chesney, 48, both from Nanticoke, were charged with simple assault and harassment. They were released on $5,000 unsecured bail.
According to the criminal complaints:
Morris and Chesney were involved in an argument at Morris’ residence on Monday. Morris claimed Chesney bit his arm and Chesney claimed Morris shoved her head against a wall, the criminal complaint says.
Preliminary hearings are scheduled on June 10 in Central Court.

5/31/2009
Citizens' Voice
City police reported the following incidents:

Edward Babetski, 63, of 104 N. Main St., Ashley, was picked up on a warrant for his arrest after he was observed by officers outside of a bar on South Prospect Street on Friday.

Catrina Calarco, of South Main Street, reported on Friday that someone attempted to enter her home by breaking a window, police said. Access was not granted.

Times Leader

William Hughes, of East Union Street, reported on Friday that someone stole the fog lights off of his vehicle while it was parked near his home.

A 13-year-old boy had his blue 20-inch Next bicycle stolen from in front of a neighbor’s home while he was visiting on Friday.

Amber Amos, of West Union Street, reported on Friday that two boys, ages 14 and 16, alleged she owes someone they know money and threatened her and her son. They will be issued harassment citations.

Jose Rivera, of West Ridge Street, said someone stole his cell phone from his residence Friday.

Melissa Dillon, of Apollo Circle, someone entered her home through a window and stole a PlayStation 3, approximately 20 assorted games and a DVD player on Friday.

5/30/2009
City police reported the following incidents:
Times Leader

Todd Grohowski, 43, of West Church Street, was cited with harassment. He allegedly pushed his ex-girlfriend to the ground and striking her in the chest on Tuesday.

Paul Lasecki, of South Hanover Street, reported on Tuesday that someone smashed his vehicle’s rear window.

Charges of simple assault and harassment were filed on May 22 against 23-year-old William M. Conway, of 309 W. Main St. He allegedly hit his girlfriend, who is eight months pregnant, during an argument at 6:08 p.m. on May 21, police said.

5/30/2009
A city woman was arrested and charged with assaulting her boyfriend during an argument on Friday
Times Leader

Danielle N. Sangemino, 29, of 508 E. Main St., Apt. 2, was arraigned Friday on counts of simple assault and harassment, court records show. She remains jailed at the county prison for lack of $5,000 bail.
Nanticoke police allege Sangemino attacked William Park at 204 Apollo Circle at 3:26 p.m. Park had scratches on his face, neck and chest, police said.
A preliminary hearing has been tentatively scheduled for June 2 in Central Court.

5/30/2009
Motorist in high-speed chase was drunk, police say
Bob Kalinowski - Citizens Voice

A Nanticoke woman accused of leading police on a high-speed chase April 26 before crashing into a railroad crossing sign in Nescopeck Township was driving while intoxicated, police said.
Debra Ann Dykins, 49, of Nanticoke, faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, fleeing police and 10 traffic violations.
Police said Dykins was ejected from the car when she crashed and was airlifted to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville with serious internal injuries.
According to police:
Dykins fled when Newport Township police tried to stop her car, a 1990 Buick Century. The chase proceeded through Newport Township, Conyngham Township and eventually to River Road in Nescopeck Township, where the crash occurred around 10:20 p.m.
She was apprehended Friday on an arrest warrant and sent to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.

5/28/2009
Times Leader
City police reported the following incidents:

Erin Olshefski, of East Green Street, reported on Tuesday that someone stole an iPod and a cell phone with charger from her vehicle.

One 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds were cited with trespassing after officers’ observed the juveniles skateboarding at the Kanjorski Center, East Main Street, on Tuesday.

David Sullivan, of West Main Street, reported on Tuesday that someone keyed the rear door of his vehicle.

Thomas Atchue, 36, of 61 Academy St., Plymouth, was arrested on outstanding warrants after he allegedly was seen by Sgt. Brian Williams and Officer Bryan Kata parked in a vehicle on East Noble Street on Tuesday, police said.

Fred David, of West Main Street, reported Tuesday that someone took a Husky knife, cash and medication from his vehicle.

A criminal mischief citation was filed Tuesday against Rafael Munoz-Castro, 36, of 407 W. Main St., after he was allegedly seen on video surveillance pulling flowers out of a flower bed in front of Jerry’s Market, West Main Street, police said.
Munoz-Castro was also cited with disorderly conduct and trespassing after being given notice of trespassing at the same market, police said.

Lynn Brown, of West Grand Street, reported Tuesday that someone stole two cushions from her lawn chairs, which were on her front porch.

Frederick Sivulich, of Glen Lyon, reported on Tuesday that someone threw eggs at a vehicle while it was parked on East Church and South Market streets.

Patricia A. Decker, 39, of 426 S. Walnut St., was cited with public drunkenness after police alleged that she was involved in a domestic dispute outside her home on Tuesday.

A Virginia man was arrested for allegedly assaulting his estranged wife outside of a home on Friday night.
Ravi D. Perry, 38, of 327 36th St., Newport News, Va., was arraigned Saturday on charges of simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct, court records show. He was released on recognizance.
Police allege Perry approached Daveina Perry, placed her in a headlock and tried to take her car keys outside her sister’s home at 210 College St. at 7:03 p.m., arrest papers state.
Two witness told police they saw Ravi Perry attack the woman and place her in a chokehold, the criminal complaint states. .
A preliminary hearing has been tentatively scheduled for June 1 in Central Court.

5/28/2009
Nanticoke man faces assault charges in alleged beating of his pregnant girlfriend
Citizens' voice

Police have charged a Nanticoke man for beating his pregnant girlfriend, according to charges filed.
William M. Conway, 23, repeatedly punched his girlfriend, who is eight-months pregnant, in front of her other child last Thursday at 309 W. Main St., police said.
The woman, Erin Shea, told police Conway punched her in the face and head several times and she dropped to the floor to protect herself.
Conway faces charges of simple assault and harassment.
According to charges filed:
The assault occurred around 6 p.m. when the two began arguing about the way Shea disciplined her 5-year-old son. After the assault, Conway grabbed her keys and cell phone and left the home. Shea stood in front of his truck and he continued to inch his vehicle forward, hitting her stomach with the bumper.
Conway had been out on bail and awaiting trial on accusations he stabbed a man in the abdomen at the Hanover Village Apartments in November.
He faces charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person in that case.

5/21/2009
Eckrote sentenced to 14 to 28 years in prison
Sheena Delazio - Times Leader

Joseph Craig Eckrote, 48, of Nanticoke, was sentenced today to 14 to 28 years in prison followed by 36 months of probation on charges stemming from the kidnapping and raping of his ex-girlfriend. Eckrote was also ordered to register with Megan's Law for the remainder of his life.
A county jury found Eckrote guilty of kidnapping, rape, robbery, simple assault, two counts of terroristic threats and a summary count of harassment in January.
According to state police at Wyoming, Eckrote's ex-girlfriend told investigators Eckrote forced her into her car outside a Plymouth Township home on May 17, 2008.
The woman said she had returned home from work that day, when Eckrote emerged from the deck area of the house. The woman said he charged at her, grabbed her with both hands and forced her into the car.
The woman said she began screaming "no" to create a disturbance and get some attention, and honked the car's horn. She told police she reached into the console and removed a knife and tried to stab Eckrote in an effort to get away, but the knife got bent and Eckrote began driving away.
Eckrote told her that he was going to kill himself if she didn't drop the protection from abuse order against him and drove to the area of the Plymouth Flats near the Susquehanna River.
The woman said Eckrote told her to remove her shirt, pants and under garments and that he "wanted to have sex with her one more time before he killed himself."
The woman said she believed Eckrote was under the influence of some type of drug at the time. He then raped her.
Eckrote then tried to drive away with the woman, police said, but realized the vehicle was stuck in the mud. The woman said Eckrote then told her to start walking and make a right turn. She complied, she said, because she was afraid Eckrote would attack her again. She took her cell phone from her pocket and called 911. Police said they searched the area for Eckrote but were unable to find him.
He surrendered last May at the office of District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke.

5/19/2009
Times Leader
City police reported the following:

Erica Neyhard, of West Main Street, was recently captured on an arrest warrant for alleged failure to appear at a court hearing in Luzerne County, police said.

Mindy Bayne, of Pine Street, recently reported someone stole lawn ornaments from her yard.

Graffiti recently was found on a road sign on Industrial Park Road and on a utility building at the West Side playground.

Lee Warren, of West Noble Street, recently reported someone stole 12 solar lights from his front yard.

Modern Gas, West Main Street, recently reported a window was smashed at the business.

5/15/2009
Times Leader
City police reported the following:

Eclipse Collision Center, West Union Street, reported May 6 that someone cut a chain-link fence and hacked apart several van bodies and stole aluminum from the business.

Mark Tarnowski reported Friday someone stole a stereo from his vehicle while it was parked near his residence on East Union Street.

Chad Fullerton, 23, of Apollo Circle, was arrested on Saturday on allegations he violated a protection from abuse order when he forced his way into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment.

Paula Pucci reported Saturday someone stole numerous hanging flower baskets and potted plants from a Flower Tent set up on Lower Broadway.

Desmond McCarthy, of Glen Lyon, reported Saturday someone stole an i-phone from his vehicle while it was parked at the Uni-Mart.

Melissa McGovern reported on Sunday someone stole landscape lighting from her yard on Pine Street.

Brittnee Jeckell, of Mountain Top, reported Monday someone damaged her vehicle while it was parked on Christian Street.

Gregory John Winslow, 33, of East Spring Street, Nanticoke, is facing charges of simple assault and harassment for allegedly punching a woman on Thursday.
Mary Tesar told police Winslow punched her several times in the head because he was upset that he missed playing darts, according to the criminal complaint.
Police said Tesar suffered facial injuries.
A preliminary hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

5/14/2009
Times Leader
City police reported the following:

Police said Kenneth Lange, 19, of South Market Street, Nanticoke, was cited with disorderly conduct after a fight involving several juveniles in the Hanover Section on Saturday.

A 14-year-old girl was cited with violating curfew; a 14-year-old boy was cited with disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, underage drinking and violating curfew; a 17-year-old boy was cited with underage drinking and violating curfew; and a 17-year-old boy was cited with violating curfew.

Kenneth Gill, caretaker at Quality Hill Playground, reported on Saturday someone damaged the field house with graffiti, police said.

Sharon Colatosti, of Loomis Street, reported someone stole a pressure washer from her garage on Monday, police said.

Ann Marie O’Donnell, of Nanticoke, reported items were stolen from her vehicle while it was parked on West Main Street on Sunday, police said.

Alise Kyznewski, of West Grand Street, reported on Wednesday a cooler containing beer and liquor was stolen from her rear porch, police said.

5/13/2009
Police: Man rams vehicle into ex-girlfriend's vehicle
elewis@timesleader.com

A West Nanticoke man was charged by police on Wednesday for allegedly ramming his vehicle into his ex-girlfriend's vehicle.
John Joseph Purvin Jr., 48, address listed as the Flamingo Motel, state Route 11, was charged with four counts each of stalking and criminal mischief, and one count each of possessing instruments of crime, terroristic threats, trespass by vehicle, accidents involving damage to parked vehicle and reckless driving. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $25,000 bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police said Erin Fletcher and Leon Becker heard a loud crash outside her residence on West Broad Street at about 8:35 p.m. Tuesday. When they went outside, they observed Purvin speeding away in his vehicle and Fletcher's vehicle damaged.
Residents on West Broad Street told police they observed Purvin, Fletcher's ex-boyfriend, twice ramming Fletcher's vehicle, the criminal complaint says.
Another resident observed Purvin, according to the criminal complaint, knocking on Fletcher's door and returning to his vehicle to ram Fletcher's vehicle.
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on May 20 in Central Court.

5/8/2009
Knife-wielding robbery suspect feeding heroin addiction
Citizens' Voice

A desperate heroin addict with a violent criminal history robbed a Nanticoke gas station at knife-point last month to get money to feed his drug addiction, police said in arrest papers.
Erik Masaitis, 24, pulled a knife on a clerk at Swither’s Gas Station, 77 N. Market St., and got away with about $200 on April 5, police said.
In a two-page written confession, Masaitis told detectives he used the money to purchase heroin. According to arrest papers, he said he has a 20-bag-a-day heroin habit, which police said would cost between $320 to $400 per day.
Masaitis was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke on charges of robbery and theft.
He has been in custody since Saturday night when he allegedly attempted to rob the Convenient Food Mart on Main Street in Luzerne at knife-point.
Police said Masaitis peddled away on a bicycle when his plot to rob the store was thwarted and was soon apprehended. He struggled with officers, who located a knife up his sleeve, police said.
Masaitis was out on bail on a host of charges when he committed the two alleged robberies, court records show. He has been arrested at least 20 times on various charges in 2009, most notably for writing thousands of dollars in bad checks, court records show.
Masaitis is jailed in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of a combined bail of $112,000 cash, plus capias warrants and parole violations, prison officials said.
Masaitis served jailed time for shooting another man in the thigh in South Wilkes-Barre in 2003 during a botched drug deal and is pending trial in the alleged knife-point robbery of a Posten Taxi driver in 2008.

5/7/2009
Times Leader - City police reported the following incidents:

Denise Salzo-Kelly, of East Ridge Street, reported Saturday that someone knocked the driver side mirror off her vehicle, police said.

Robert Broski, of East Washington Street, reported Sunday that he had video surveillance of someone squirting ketchup on his vehicle.

Police said Robin Jones, of Loomis Street, reported on Sunday that someone stole two red plastic gas cans from her porch.

Joseph Tencza, of Walnut Street, reported on Friday that after being alerted by his dog he observed a male on a skateboard taking a 5-by-7 sheet of stainless steel from his yard.

Robert Steinruck, 38, of 901 Mark Drive, Hanover Township, will be cited with disorderly conduct and criminal mischief after police were called to a disturbance between him and his ex-girlfriend on West Grand Street, police said. Police said he jumped onto the hood of her vehicle and kicked out the windshield.

5/7/2009
Accused of forged prescription, area man faces hearing
Alexander Oko, charged in forgery, criminal contempt case, has court date today.
jmarckini@timesleader.com

A Nanticoke man accused of forging a prescription in March is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing today in Central Court.
Alexander Oko, 23, of 419 E. Church St., was arraigned last Monday on charges of criminal contempt and forgery, court records show. He was jailed but released the same day on 10 percent $50,000 bail.
Nanticoke police alleged Oko forged a prescription for 120 Percocet pills by using a doctor’s name at CVS Pharmacy, 555 E. Main St., on March 26. A pharmacist who thought the prescription was suspicious notified police the next day.
According to the criminal complaint:
On March 27, police spoke with Christine Kropiewnicki, a pharmacist at the Nanticoke pharmacy, who questioned the prescription dropped off by Oko the night before.
The handwriting on the prescription did not match the doctor’s handwriting, Kropiewnicki and another pharmacist, Karen Briggs, told investigators. Kropiewnicki called the doctor’s office in Huntington Mills and determined the prescription had been forged.
Oko continued to call the pharmacy asking whether the prescription was going to be filled.
He was later identified in a photo lineup. Surveillance from the store was also obtained.
On April 7, police spoke with Dr. Donald Stone, who recalled speaking with the CVS pharmacist on March 27. He also verified he did not write a prescription for Oko, a former patient of his.
Oko’s hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. this morning in Central Court.

5/7/2009
Edwardsville man charged with robbing friend
Police allege man took cell phone, cash from a man after threatening him.
jmarckini@timesleader.com

An Edwardsville man was arrested and charged with allegedly robbing a friend of his cell phone and cash in March.
John J. Ricko Jr., 24, of 92 Atlantic Ave., was arraigned Monday on charges of robbery and theft by unlawful taking, court records show. He was jailed at Luzerne County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $75,000 bail.
City police said Ricko robbed his friend, Richard Dunn, of his money and Motorola Razor cell phone on Shea Street, near East Main Street, around 12:30 a.m. March 30.
According to the criminal complaint:
Dunn came into police headquarters later that morning to report Ricko had robbed him. Dunn said that on March 29 he met with Ricko on his way home from work in the area of East Main Street near JP Mascaros Inc. and hung out with him most of the day at his house.
Later that night, he and Ricko walked to Citizens Bank, 75 N. Market St., so Dunn would be able to get money from the ATM using his state Access Card. Dunn told police he took out $100.
The pair then walked to the Uni-Mart, 61 E. Main St., and purchased $15 worth of items. After they left and once they approached Shea Street, Dunn alleged, Ricko robbed him.
Dunn said Ricko demanded his cell phone and money and threatened him, stating, “he would be lying on the pavement.”
Dunn told police he knew that Ricko carries a knife, so he gave him the money and phone.
A preliminary hearing has been tentatively scheduled for next Tuesday in Central Court.

4/28/2009
Woman charged in chicken wing theft
elewis@timesleader.com

A woman was charged by police on Monday for allegedly stealing one chicken wing from a grocery store.
Linda Plews, 53, address listed as the Flamingo Motel, state Route 11, Plymouth Township, was charged with retail theft, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, criminal trespass and public drunkenness. She was released on $5,000 unsecured bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police said Plews was inside Mr. Z's at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday and ordered a specific size lobster tail for a specific price. When a store employee said there are only certain size lobster tails available at a fixed price, police alleged Plews became upset and started yelling obscenities at store employees.
Plews refused to leave the store. When officers advised her she was under arrest, Plews picked up her purse and a partially eaten chicken wing fell out, the criminal complaint says.
A store employee told police the chicken wing came from the store's deli bar.
Police said Plews refused to place her hands behind her back when officers attempted to handcuff her, according to the criminal complaint.

4/18/2009
Times Leader

• Joseph Sauers, of Hill Street, reported on April 2 that off-road lights were stolen from his vehicle.

• A wedding ring and money were stolen during a burglary at a home in the 1100 block of South Market Street on April 3.

• Three firearms were reported stolen from D&R Sporting Goods, Fairchild Street, on April 3.

• A music player, a video game system and money were stolen during a burglary at a home on West Broad Street on April 3.

• A homeowner in the 1000 block of South Market Street reported on April 5 that someone entered her residence through a basement door. No items were reported missing.

• Maureen Mangino, of Birch Street, Nanticoke, reported on April 10 that her purse and a global positioning system were stolen from her vehicle while it was parked in the area of Sarny’s Fitness Center, Middle Road.

• A video game system, video games and video game accessories were stolen from a home in the 1000 block of South Market Street on April 10.

• Phillip Rismiller, of Hill Street, reported on April 10 that money and other items were stolen from his vehicle while it was parked near his residence.

• Oreste Ruotolo Jr., 32, of Spring Street, Glen Lyon, was charged with possessing marijuana and public drunkenness after he passed out on a porch of a home on April 3. He was charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and public drunkenness. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 11 in Central Court.

• Heather Ann Szymaszek, 34, of Apollo Circle, was charged with endangering the welfare of children for allegedly leaving her 5-year-old at home alone while she went to a bar on April 4.

According to the criminal complaint:

A man told police he left his apartment at about 10:50 p.m. April 4 and noticed a boy in a window at the Apollo Circle apartment complex crying and screaming for his mother. The man returned home several minutes later and continued to hear the boy crying and screaming.

The man talked to the boy through the window and learned that Szymaszek was at a bar and left the boy home alone. Police entered the apartment that they described as being in disarray and with an unsanitary refrigerator that did not have ample food for the child.

A phone bill found in the residence listed Szymaszek as the tenant of the apartment. A neighbor told police that the child has been left home alone previously. The child was then taken into protective custody by Luzerne County Children and Youth Services, police said.

Police said they were notified at 1:14 a.m. April 5 to call Szymaszek in connection with the child being missing. Szymaszek told police, according to the criminal complaint, that she left the apartment when the child was sleeping to give her father a ride home from the Prospect Street Caf?. She admitted to police, the criminal complaint says, that she consumed a drink at the caf..

4/6/2009
Police look for suspect who robbed Nanticoke gas station
Erin Moody - Citizens' Voice

Nanticoke City Police are searching for a man who held up Swithers Gas Station at knifepoint Sunday afternoon.
At about 2:11 p.m., police were dispatched to the gas station at 77 N. Market St. The clerk working in the station said a man entered the building from the east side and demanded money.
Police said the clerk handed over cash that he was holding and he had intended to put in the drop safe. The suspect directed him to open the cash register, and the clerk took out money and gave it to him, according to authorities.
The amount of money taken was not immediately known, police said. The suspect had an 8-inch fixed blade hunting knife with him and police said he fled in the direction he came, behind the Wyoming Valley Transmission building.
The suspect, who is described as a white male in his 20s, between 5 feet 5 inches and 6 feet tall, 135 to 150 pounds, clean shaven, with blue eyes and brown hair that was longer than his ears. He was wearing a brown coat, light blue shorts that went past his knees and a light-colored fishing hat.
Anyone with information is asked to call Nanticoke police at 735-2200, ext. 205 or 207.

3/31/2009
Nanticoke police investigate rash of vehicle fires
Citizens' Voice

Someone deliberately set vehicles on fire in the area of Loomis and Dewey streets in Nanticoke on Sunday, city police said.
The first incident occurred around 10:47 p.m., when residents of 109 Loomis St. noticed a small trash container had been set on fire inside their 2008 Isuzu truck. The truck’s owner put the fire out and, upon checking the area, noticed a burning vehicle console on the front porch of 25 Dewey St. The resident called 911 and kicked the console to the sidewalk.
The Nanticoke fire department arrived to extinguish the fire and found ownership papers for a vehicle belonging to the resident of 37 Loomis St. A firefighter sent to that address noticed the back seat of a 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck was ablaze. Nanticoke police discovered the truck’s console was the one that had been set on fire at 25 Dewey St.
On Monday morning, state police Fire Marshal Ronald Jarocha determined the three fires were intentionally set. Nanticoke police are continuing to investigate the vehicle fires, as well as several incidents on Loomis Street involving the ransacking of unlocked vehicles.
Anyone with information or who may have observed anything suspicious is asked to call Nanticoke City Police at 735-2200 ext. 205 or 207.

3/31/2009
Nanticoke teen charged in man’s beating death at Wilkes-Barre supermarket
cjones@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-211

An 18-year-old Nanticoke man was arrested Monday on charges related to the beating death of a Wilkes-Barre man, who died Friday at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Plains Township, after he was assaulted outside a South Wilkes-Barre grocery store Thursday night.
Zireek Rahim Gardner, of 810 E. Main St., was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge William Amesbury on involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person, and simple assault charges in 25-year-old William Bentley’s homicide. Gardner could serve up to nine years in prison and have to pay a $20,000 fine for the three misdemeanor offenses. He was in custody at Luzerne County Correctional Facility on Monday for lack of $75,000 straight bail.
Gardner punched Bentley once Thursday night outside Schiel’s Market on Hanover Street, according to arrest papers. Bentely and Gardner had “an encounter” earlier, Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll said, but would not elaborate on the disagreement, saying law enforcement is “looking into it more thoroughly.”
The incident was recorded on one of Schiel’s security cameras Thursday night and shows Gardner hitting Bentley, police said. Bentley died Friday from “blunt trauma to the head,” and it was ruled a homicide by Dr. Gary Ross, who performed the autopsy Saturday. Bentley was not conscience when police arrived. He suffered cardiac arrest Thursday and was revived by hospital personnel, but he had no brain activity and was placed on life support until Friday night. Because doctors determined Bentley would not recover from the injuries, his family decided to pull him off life support and he was pronounced dead around 6 p.m. Friday, according to the police report.
Bentley’s death was directly related to the assault, Musto Carroll said, but given the nature of his death prosecutors deemed “it was not an intentional killing but an involuntary manslaughter.”
There has been “virtually no crime” in the last 15 months at Schiel’s, Wilkes-Barre police Chief Gerard Dessoye said after reviewing crime reports. Off-duty police officers sometimes provide security for the store, but Dessoye wasn’t sure if an officer was on scene at the time of the incident.
“People should not feel that this reflects on Schiel’s market in anyway,” Dessoye said. “It was a random meeting of two individuals who had a previous dispute with each other. It could’ve happened anywhere.”
Gardner’s preliminary hearing will be April 8 at Central Court.

3/27/2009
Police: Son arrested for dispute with mother
Times Leader

A man was charged Friday morning on allegations he prevented his 70-year old mother from leaving a bedroom during a dispute.
John Joseph Everhart, 31, of Honey Pot Street, Nanticoke, was charged with stalking and unlawful restraint. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $5,000 bail.
Police said Everhart's mother locked herself in a bedroom during an argument Thursday night. Everhart kicked the door open and refused to let her mother leave, according to the criminal complaint.
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on April 6 in Central Court.

3/27/2009
A Nanticoke man was sentenced Thursday to two to four years in state prison on burglary charges
Times Leader

Edward Bath, III, 25, of East Ridge Street, was sentenced by Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Peter Paul Olszewski, Jr. Bath pleaded guilty to the charges in January.
According to court records, on June 29, Bath stole numerous lottery tickets and packs of cigarettes from Ruminski’s Market on Market Street. Police said the items amounted to $521.29.
Bath was ordered to pay more than $1,000 in restitution.

3/20/2009
A city man was arrested on charges he broke into a garage on West Ridge Street on Tuesday.

Damon J. Millan, 18, of 139 Park St., was arraigned Wednesday morning on counts of burglary and criminal trespass, according to court records. He was jailed at Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $10,000 straight bail.
Millan is accused of breaking into Zachary Hallas’ garage at 49 W. Ridge St., the criminal complaint states. Police arrived to the burglary in-progress around 5:30 p.m.
A preliminary hearing has been tentatively scheduled for March 25 in Central Court.

3/20/2009
Meth-making materials taken from suspected lab
bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2055

Authorities seized more than 40 pieces of evidence and 10 guns from a Nanticoke home that authorities suspect was being used as a methamphetamine lab, according to an inventory list filed after a search warrant was executed on the residence.
Investigators obtained a search warrant on the 195 W. Green St. home Wednesday morning after going there to arrest occupant Robert Muntz, 42, one of 22 charged in connection with a drug ring allegedly operated by the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.
Authorities said they seized cold medicine packets, gallons of hydrochloric acid and drain cleaner, antifreeze, iodine tincture, peroxide and camping fuel, all products typically used to operate methamphetamine labs. In addition, the inventory list says police took funnels, aluminum foil, glass jars, metal screens, a digital scale, a turkey baster, glass dishes, electrical cooking plates and a camping stove, much of which was tarnished with red residue, a common remnant of meth production. The items are commonly used to produce meth, police say.
“Everything will be tested from here,” said Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll. “In the meantime, we’ll evaluate the case while awaiting test results.”
The weapons seized from Muntz’s home include seven rifles, two shotguns and a pistol, according to the search warrant inventory list filed in the office of Magisterial District Judge Donald Whitaker in Nanticoke.
Muntz was charged with delivery of methamphetamine, manufacturing methamphetamine and criminal use of a communication facility in connection with the probe into the Ashley-based Outlaws Motorcycle Club, the local affiliate of a dangerous nationwide biker gang.
Muntz’s name is referenced several times in the 237-page affidavit filed in support of charges against the 22 people arrested Wednesday.
Authorities wiretapped phone calls that Joseph John “Skidmark” Janick, 44, placed to Muntz to order methamphetamine in February, the affidavit says. Officers then conducted a surveillance operation in Nanticoke and witnessed Janick meet with Muntz, police said.
Janick is identified by authorities as the president of the local chapter of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.
Muntz is jailed in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $250,000 cash bail. Authorities have not said if he will face additional charges for the suspected meth lab.

3/19/2009
Police converge on suspected meth lab
Elizabeth Skrapits - Citizens Voice

The white multi-family home with children’s toys on the front porch and St. Patrick’s Day decorations in the window was the last place neighbors expected to house a possible meth lab.
Officials from the state Attorney General’s Office, Nanticoke police, state police and Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll’s office swarmed 195 W. Green St. in Nanticoke on Wednesday night, investigating what Musto Carroll said appeared to be the components of a methamphetamine lab.
Earlier, Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett announced the break-up of a $3.6 million cocaine ring allegedly run by the Outlaw Motorcycle Club. One of the people arrested was 42-year-old Robert Muntz, who lived in the home.
Because the area around it is densely populated, Musto Carroll said authorities were “taking all precautions to ensure everything is safe.” She believed the people who lived in the other unit in the house were evacuated.
Residents said the neighborhood is quiet.
“It’s unbelievable. I’m really blown away,” said Kathy King as she walked past the house with her 8-year-old daughter. “I’m surprised it didn’t blow up.”
Muntz is charged with one count of delivering methamphetamine, one count of manufacturing methamphetamine and one count of criminal use of a communications facility. Musto Carroll said it is too early to determine what other charges he could face.

3/15/2009
Times Leader
City police said they arrested a Wilkes-Barre man in connection with an illegal drug purchase operation at Apollo Circle Housing Complex on Wednesday.

Jaladel C. Fishley, 24, of 157 Welles St., was arraigned Thursday morning on counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver, criminal use of communication facility and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to jail records.
Fishley posted $10,000 bail and was released from jail.
Police alleged Fishley, known to authorities as “L,” sold two bricks, or 100 bags, of heroin to a confidential informant during Wednesday’s drug investigation.
A cell phone used to set up the heroin deal and a bag of marijuana was found on Fishley, police said.
A preliminary hearing has been tentatively scheduled for March 19 at Central Court.

3/15/2009
Times Leader
City police are looking for 24-year-old Justin Eckrote, who is wanted on drug possession and delivery charges stemming from a foot pursuit last week.

Officers Amos Vanderhoff and Sgt. Joe Guydosh observed two suspicious people, a man and woman, entering a known location for drug activity at a home on West Main Street on March 8, according to police.
The man, later identified as Eckrote, was observed to have something in his hand when police approached him. Eckrote fled when officers called to him, police said.
Police were unable to locate Eckrote but said they found five bundles of heroin in the area he fled.
A warrant for Eckrote’s arrest has been issued, police said.

3/8/2009
Nanticoke police arrest man after stealing car
Citizens' Voice

Nanticoke police arrested a man Friday night after he allegedly stole a friend’s mother’s vehicle.
On Friday morning, Kathleen Levandowski, 221 Apollo Circle, Nanticoke, reported her car keys for a 1996 Dodge Stratus and around $180 were stolen from her house.
She said she allowed Anthony John Dupak Jr., 18, an acquaintance of her daughter’s, to stay at her house Thursday night because he did not have a place to sleep.
According to a police affidavit, around 10 p.m. Friday, Wilkes-Barre police found the stolen vehicle near the Anthracite Newsstand on Public Square, with Dupak behind the wheel.
Officers took Dupak into custody. He is charged with theft, receiving stolen property and driving without a license.
Dupak remains jailed at Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $3,000 bail, prison officials said.

3/8/2009
Man driving stolen car arrested by authorities
Citizens' Voice

Nanticoke police arrested a man Friday for allegedly stealing a vehicle and driving with a suspended license. Police said they stopped Joshua George Hallas, 26, of 49 W. Ridge St., Nanticoke, after he drove through a stop sign on South Market Street, Nanticoke on Friday night.
He was operating a green 1995 Oldsmobile that had been reported stolen by Patricia Medura and Timothy Caruthers of South Hanover Street. A records check showed Hallas’ drivers license was suspended.
Hallas was free on $5,000 unsecured bail on Saturday.

3/3/2009
A 24-year-old Nanticoke man pleaded guilty last week to several drug-related offenses, including an incident in which police say he kidnapped a 15-year-old girl.

Norman Mayewski, of East Main Street, entered the plea before Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Toole. Mayewski faces a 20-year maximum sentence on the kidnapping charges alone.
Toole said Mayewski will be sentenced on April 17 at 9 a.m. on two counts of manufacturing a controlled substance, five counts of delivery of a controlled substance, one count each of possession with intent to deliver, kidnapping and intent to possess a controlled substance.
Police said Mayewski sold suspected crack and heroin to a police informant and was found in possession of anabolic steroids during a search of his home in 2007.
When police stopped his car to arrest him on Oct. 22, 2007, Mayewski gave the 15-year-old girl – a passenger in the car – an altered soda can that contained crack. While out on bail on the drug charges, police arrested Mayewski on Nov. 23, 2007, in connection with the girls’ kidnapping and assault.
The girl testified at a previous preliminary hearing that she was forced into a car by Mayewski and assaulted. Toole ordered Mayewski to have no contact with the girl and pay more than $800 in restitution and other costs.

2/27/2009
Nanticoke man arrested on rape charges
Police allege David Vishnefski attacked ex-girlfriend after she broke off relationship.
jmarckini@timesleader.com

A man was arrested Thursday on allegations he raped a 22-year-old woman he knew at a city home.
David M. Vishnefski, 23, of Nanticoke, was arraigned on charges of first-degree rape, a felony, along with multiple counts of aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and unlawful restraint, according to court records. He is jailed on $75,000 straight bail.
A warrant was issued for his arrest on Tuesday, police said.
Vishnefski is accused of forcing the victim to have sexual intercourse at his West Green Street home during the early-morning hours of Feb. 16, the criminal complaint states.
The Times Leader does not identify victims of alleged sexual assault.
According to the criminal complaint:
The victim appeared at Nanticoke police headquarters to report she had been raped by Vishnefski earlier that morning. The victim said she broke off the relationship of approximately three years with Vishnefski, but the two agreed to reside together to raise their 18-month-old child.
Police said there is an extensive history of domestic violence involving the two at the Nanticoke home starting in August 2008.
The victim told police Vishnefski wanted to talk to her about the recent break-up.Vishnefski became enraged, according to the criminal complaint, and punched several holes in the wall before punching his own face.
The victim told police she tried to leave a bedroom, but Vishnefski would not allow her to. After several minutes of arguing, the victim alleged, she was held down and forced to have sex against her will.
A preliminary hearing has been tentatively scheduled for March 5 at Central Court.

2/24/2009
More stained-glass windows stolen in Nanticoke
Bob Kalinowski - Citizens' Voice

Nanticoke’s stained-glass burglars have struck again.
In the last week, thieves stole a stained-glass window from the dining room of a home that was previously targeted at 344 E. Church St., according to the real estate agent trying to sell the home.
At least 10 vacant properties in Nanticoke and Newport Township that are for sale had stained-glass windows stolen from them in the last several weeks. Several windows were taken from 344 E. Church St. in the initial wave of thefts.
However, one piece remained. After the initial theft, the rear door was secured with new locks, said Nikki Callahan, a Realtor from Classic Properties in Kingston.
The burglars gained entry to steal the remaining stained glass, Callahan said.
“Unbelievable,” Callahan said Monday. “I went there yesterday to show the house, and I realized the dining room window was no longer there.”
Callahan has been trying to rent the home for the owner until a buyer could be found. She previously had a lease agreement signed for the home, then the prospective tenants backed out after the burglary was discovered. She said the people who looked at the home Sunday agreed to rent it anyway.
Police continue to investigate the thefts. No arrests have been made.

2/18/2009
A city man who was the subject of an ongoing heroin trafficking investigation was arrested after authorities raided his home on Monday
Times Leader

Joshua Flaherty, 33, of 126 E. Grand St., Apt. 2, was charged with multiple counts of manufacturing, delivering or possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and criminal use of communication facility, according to court and jail records.
Flaherty is jailed at Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $30,000 bail.
Nanticoke police alleged Flaherty sold heroin to an undercover officer four times – twice on Friday, and once on Saturday and Sunday, according to arrest papers.
Authorities raided Flaherty’s home on Monday as a result of the undercover purchases, the criminal complaint states.
According to the complaint:
On Monday, a search warrant was executed at the Nanticoke home where city police and members of the county Drug Task Force say they seized 39 packets of heroin under a bathroom sink and $350 cash in Flaherty’s front pants pocket.
Each packet was identical to the ones Flaherty sold to the undercover officer, according to the criminal complaint.
Police allege Flaherty told them his involvement in selling the drug was to satisfy his own heroin addiction, along with securing funds to pay for the rent and to support his family.
A preliminary hearing has been tentatively scheduled for Feb. 25 at Central Court.

2/11/2009
Nanticoke man faces drug, DUI charges
Times Leader

A man whom police said they saw vomiting outside an idling vehicle was arrested when officers allegedly found heroin packets in his coat and on the ground.
Jamie Fernandez-Maldonado, 24, of West Union Street, Nanticoke, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of driving under the influence. He was released on $3,000 bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police observed Fernandez-Maldonado leaning outside of a vehicle and vomiting in the 300 block of Maple Street at about 2:45 a.m. Saturday. Police said the vomit had an odor of alcohol.
Fernandez-Maldonado got out of the vehicle and dropped 10 heroin packets on the ground.
Police also said they found 19 heroin packets in Fernandez-Maldonado’s coat pocket.
A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled on Feb. 17 in Central Court.

2/10/2009
Thieves target valuable stained-glass windows
bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2055

Homes for sale in Nanticoke City and Newport Township have been targeted in the last week by burglars who are stealing high-priced stained-glass windows, police in the two municipalities say.
At least 10 properties, nearly all of them vacant and awaiting a buyer, have been hit, police say.
The thefts are harming potential sales of the homes because buyers are reluctant to purchase a house that was burglarized, a local real estate agent said.
Realtor Nikki Callahan, of Classic Properties in Kingston, said she had a lease agreement completed for a $150,000 home at 344 E. Church St. in Nanticoke while the home was being marketed for sale, but the renter backed out after he discovered the theft.
“He was going to move in. He went there to do some work and found it. His children are now afraid to live there,” Callahan said.
Homes targeted in Nanticoke were on East Church, South Prospect and East Green streets. Properties burglarized in Newport Township were on Coal, East Main and West Main streets in the Glen Lyon section, as well as Old Newport Street in Sheatown.
In most cases, burglars forced entry into the home and broke the window frames to take the stained-glass. Police say they are searching for leads and are asking the public for help in solving the crimes.
“They’re making money out there somehow. They’re worth big bucks,” said Newport Township police Chief Rob Impaglia.
Pieces of stained-glass could be worth hundreds of dollars, or more, depending on the quality and design, according to various news reports of stained-glass thefts around the country.
“This has been going on for quite a while in Reading and Philadelphia. It’s starting to hit up here,” Impaglia said.
Impaglia suggests sellers either remove the stained-glass, or hide it from view, to avoid being victimized. Those with vacant homes are being asked to check their properties.
Nanticoke police Detective Capt. William Shultz said he suspects desperate drug addicts are behind the thefts.
“As the heroin addicts were stealing copper tubing, they’re now switching to stained-glass windows,” Shultz said. “Evidentially, there is a market for them and they have a place to get rid of or sell them.”
Police are asking anyone with information to call Nanticoke police at 735-2200 or Newport Township police at 735-2000.

2/8/2009
Nanticoke man faces charges of stealing video games from store

Police arrested a man on allegations he walked into a Blockbuster Video store and walked out with eight video games.
Edward Lee Ruzanski, 24, of Lincoln Avenue, Nanticoke, was charged with a misdemeanor count of retail theft and false identification to law enforcement officers, according to West Pittston police.
He was jailed for lack of $10,000 bail, police said.
Police alleged Ruzanski stole $508.72 worth of Playstation 3 games without paying from the video store at 801 Wyoming Ave., on Feb. 1.
An officer observed a suspicious vehicle to the rear of Insalaco’s Shopping Center, police said.
A check of registration and owners information revealed that the driver had a suspended license, according to police. The vehicle was pulled over. A passenger, later identified as Ruzanski, provided a false birth date, police said.
Shortly after the traffic stop, police said Blockbuster Video called 911 to report the theft.
Ruzanski fit the description of the alleged suspect and was taken into custody, police said. The video games were recovered.
Police are investigating if he is responsible for several other thefts from the video store.

2/6/2009
Nanticoke woman refused to proceed with criminal charges against her husband, who was accused of allegedly throwing a dart at her.

John Wojciechowski, 40, of North Washington Street, waived his right to a preliminary hearing in Central Court on Thursday, sending a single count of resisting arrest to Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas.
Prosecutors withdrew charges of simple assault, reckless endangerment and possessing instruments of crime against Wojciechowski when his wife, Kimberly Wojciechowski, refused to testify against him.
Nanticoke police alleged in arrest records that John threw a dart that stuck the leg of his wife during an argument at their residence on Jan. 28.
Police alleged Wojciechowski struggled with officers and kicked a police cruiser.

2/5/2009
A Nanticoke woman pleaded guilty in Luzerne County Court to raping a child.

Tracy Vasholz, 34, of Minor Avenue, pleaded guilty before President Judge Chester Muroski on Monday to rape of a child.
She is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
Hanover Township police alleged Vasholz raped and sexually assaulted a now 18-year-old male from January 1995 to August 2006 at various locations, according to the criminal complaint.

2/3/2009
Edward Lee Ruzanski, 24, of Lincoln Avenue, Nanticoke, was charged on Monday after he allegedly was observed throwing heroin packets out of a vehicle during a traffic stop
Times Leader

He is charged with possession of a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence and was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $10,000 bail.
According to the criminal complaint: Edwardsville police spotted a vehicle suspected to be involved in a series of retail thefts leaving the Mark Plaza parking lot on Jan. 23. Kingston police stopped the vehicle, driven by Jason Chamberlain, on Wyoming Avenue. Police alleged they found marijuana in Chamberlain’s pockets.
Ruzanski, a passenger in the vehicle, was observed allegedly throwing heroin packets out a window, police said. Police further alleged a second passenger, Kyle Garbett, 23, of Nanticoke, was wanted by Hanover Township police on a retail theft charge.
Chamberlain was charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is tentatively scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 26 in Central Court. Ruzanski is tentatively scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 10. Garbett is tentatively scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 12.

1/31/2009
Burglary arrest leads to capture of drug dealer
hruckno@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2109

A Nanticoke man arrested in connection with a burglary in the city led to the apprehension of an accused drug dealer, according to documents filed in Luzerne County Central Court.
Eric Keefe, 27, who last resided at 243 rear E. Green St., was arrested just before 1 a.m. Friday at a home on West Main Street, Nanticoke police said. He was wanted on outstanding burglary charges.
Keefe was charged with burglary and firearms violations, as well as theft and receiving stolen property, arrest papers indicated.
He was committed to Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $10,000 cash bail, police said.
According to arrest papers:
The burglary occurred Jan. 26 at a home in Nanticoke. The resident, whose name was withheld by police, told authorities someone stole a handgun and a 50-inch television.
The resident told police Keefe sold the handgun to a drug dealer named, “Danny,” in exchange for heroin.
Through the resident, police learned “Danny” had the gun in a backpack in the trunk of his car with $1,890 in cash and 130 bags of heroin. He and the resident had planned to take those items to New York, police said.
Police took the bag from the trunk and replaced the money and drugs with other items before they staged an arrest of the resident.
After police took the resident into custody, “Danny” left the house to go to the car. He was taken into custody after a brief standoff with police.
Once in custody, “Danny” identified himself as Daniel Gibson, but Daniel Gibson had no prior record. A fingerprint analysis positively identified him as Mikal Ameen.
Ameen was taken to Luzerne County Correctional Facility to await arraignment. He remained incarcerated Friday night in lieu of $10,000 cash bail, prison officials said.
The resident was released from custody.

1/29/2009
Breaking News: Nanticoke man assaults wife with dart 2:49 p.m. - Citizens' Voice

Police say John Wojciechowski threw a dart at his wife, Kimberly, from less than 10 feet away and the dart lodged in her right thigh.
Wojciechowski was charged with simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, possessing instruments of a crime, and resisting arrest.
According to police:
The incident occurred around 10:30 p.m. after Wojciechowski’s wife repeatedly asked him to turn down the loud music he was blaring at their 126 W. Washington St. home. She was playing darts at the time with the couple’s teenage daughter. When he refused, she turned it down herself. He turned it back up, and she turned it down again.
Wojciechowski became “enraged,” took a dart and flung it at his wife.
The woman told police her husband was highly intoxicated and had been drinking since 10 a.m.
When police arrived, Wojciechowski had already left the residence. Police later located him at the residence around 1:10 a.m. Officers say he struggled with police while being placed in the police car.

1/28/2009
Nanticoke men charged in vehicle break-in
Times Leader

Two city men were charged in connection to a vehicle break-in just after midnight on Monday, police said.
James M. Bramich, 19, and Robert J. Albertson, 22, both of 209 Apollo Circle, were arraigned Monday on counts of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, according to court records. Both are jailed for not being able to produce $5,000 bail.
Bramich was also charged with scattering rubbish, police said. Albertson was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, police said.
Preliminary hearings are tentatively scheduled for Feb. 4 at Central Court.
According to the criminal complaint:
Nanticoke police were dispatched to 810 S. Hanover St. for a report of two men attempting to break into a vehicle. The victim, Dan Osko, told police his vehicle was entered and his girlfriend’s purse had been stolen.
Osko told police he heard something outside a residence and observed two men inside the vehicle with the interior light on, police said. He then began yelling and both suspects fled.
The purse’s contents – a Playboy belt buckle lighter, Sharpie markers and a Brittany Spears body spray – were found on a sidewalk near the corner of West Grand and Maple streets. Officers found both males, Bramich and Albertson, near South Prospect and East Noble streets.
Albertson was in possession of a red glass object with residue producing an odor of suspected burnt marijuana, the criminal complaint states.

1/27/2009
New York man arrested on firearm charges
Times Leader

Police said they arrested a New York man and seized 130 heroin packets and recovered a handgun stolen during a burglary on West Main Street on Tuesday.
Mikal Ameen, 30, of Utica, was arrested after he attempted to run away from police. Police said Ameen stole a handgun from a home that he intended to sell in New York City, according to arrest records.
Ameen was charged with persons not to possess firearms, firearms not to be carried without a license, receiving stolen property, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, escape, resisting arrest, false identification to law enforcement and criminal mischief. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $10,000 bail.
According to arrest records:
Police were investigating a burglary at the West Main Street home where a television and a .9-mm caliber handgun was stolen. Police recovered the television, and later found the handgun in the trunk of a vehicle.
Police also found, according to arrest records, heroin inside the trunk.
Police said they replaced the handgun and heroin with other items in the vehicle. Police kept an eye on the vehicle and allegedly observed, according to arrest records, a man enter the vehicle.
When police moved in, the man, identified as Ameen, fled into a residence where he was captured, police said in arrest records.

1/21/2009
Western Pa. man returned to area to face charges in Luzerne County
eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

An Erie County man’s 15 months on the run from Luzerne County authorities came to an end Tuesday.
Jared Samuel Amoroso, 28, faces a variety of charges from Wilkes-Barre and Wilkes-Barre Township police, including 14 counts of recklessly endangering another person, resisting arrest, giving false information to law enforcement officers, and a slew of traffic offenses ranging from careless driving to DUI.
“I’ve never had anybody go to these lengths to escape traffic charges,” said township police Sgt. Thomas Wardle.
Jackson Township police arrested Amoroso for drunk driving on Dec. 12, 2005. Luzerne County Judge Patrick Toole issued a warrant for Amoroso’s arrest when he failed to appear in court on Aug. 15, 2006.
Wardle was doing traffic detail on East Northampton Street the evening of Sept. 27, 2007, when he clocked Amoroso doing 57 miles per hour in a 25-mph zone, arrest papers state.
When Wardle pulled the car over, he noticed a strong odor of alcohol on Amoroso’s breath and saw an open can of beer in the cup holder and a 12-pack of beer behind the passenger seat. Amoroso ran into the woods during field sobriety testing. An officer spotted him in the area of Watson Court, but Amoroso fled on foot on Interstate 81.
Police discovered it would be Amoroso’s fourth DUI offense and that his license was suspended.
Law enforcement officials found Amoroso living in an apartment at 363 N. Washington St. in Wilkes-Barre, and shortly before noon on Oct. 2, 2007, Luzerne County sheriff’s deputies came to arrest him.
Amoroso, who was only wearing black mesh shorts, leapt from a third-story window to a neighboring roof, then jumped 40 feet to the ground and ran to a waiting vehicle, arrest papers state.
Amoroso eluded authorities all day, leading them on a chase through several municipalities in his ex-girlfriend’s 2005 Hyundai, which he abandoned when police closed in on him on Spencer Street in Hanover Township. Amoroso disappeared into the woods.
His landlord, retired Greater Nanticoke Area high school principal Thomas Kubasek, had been in phone contact with Amoroso and arranged to bring him his clothing and dog and some money.
Kubasek was put in the Accelerated Rehabilitation Program for 12 months on three charges of hindering apprehension or providing aid to a fugitive, court records show.
Luzerne County Sheriff’s Deputy Jennifer Roberts said authorities got court orders for Amoroso’s cell phone and MySpace records. The Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshal’s office located Amoroso in Erie County, where he was originally from.
“He was on our ‘Top 25 Most Wanted’ list for a while,” Roberts said.
Court records show Amoroso was brought to Luzerne County from the Erie County prison. He is also wanted in Venango and Warren counties. Roberts said he would be extradited to face charges.
Magisterial District Judge Martin Kane arraigned Amoroso on Tuesday. Amoroso is lodged in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $20,000 straight cash bail on the Wilkes-Barre charges and 10 percent of $10,000 bail on the Wilkes-Barre Township charges. He faces preliminary hearings on Jan. 27 and 28, both at 10 a.m. in Central Court.

1/10/2009
A man was charged Wednesday on allegations he passed a fraudulent prescription at a pharmacy in October, police said.

Edward G. Bath III, 25, of 57 Old Newport St., Nanticoke, was arraigned Friday on a felony charge of criminal attempt, according to court records. He is jailed for lack of producing $5,000 straight bail.
Bath is accused of fraudulently obtaining 60 tablets of Vicodin ES by portraying to be a doctor and faxing in a prescription to Weiss Pharmacy in Nanticoke, police said.
According to an affidavit:
On Oct. 20, authorities went to Aspen Dental Office in Wilkes-Barre Township and spoke to an office manager who alleged Bath had passed a fraudulent prescription.
Authorities received a copy of the prescription receipt at the Weiss Pharmacy on Oct. 22.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15 at Central Court.

1/9/2009
Man convicted of rape, kidnapping
Nanticoke’s Joseph Craig Eckrote found guilty of crimes against former girlfriend.
sdelazio@timesleader.com

A Nanticoke man accused of kidnapping and raping his ex-girlfriend was found guilty of the charges Wednesday by a Luzerne County jury.
Joseph Craig Eckrote, 48, was charged with kidnapping, rape, robbery of a motor vehicle, simple assault, two counts of terroristic threats and one count of summary harassment.
A jury deliberated for two and a half hours after testimony was completed.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said Eckrote will be sentenced on the charges on April 1 at 9:30 a.m.
Eckrote was originally scheduled to enter a plea Monday but opted to stand trial instead. He was represented by public defender Mark Singer, who asked that the charges against Eckrote be dismissed. But Olszewski denied the motion.
Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Jenny Roberts prosecuted the case.
According to state police at Wyoming, the woman told investigators Eckrote forced her into her car outside a Plymouth Township home on May 17.
The woman said she had returned home from work that day, when Eckrote emerged from the deck area of the house. The woman said he charged at her, grabbed her with both hands and forced her into the car.
The woman said she began screaming “no” to create a disturbance and get some attention, and honked the car’s horn. She told police she reached into the console and removed a knife and tried to stab Eckrote in an effort to get away, but the knife got bent and Eckrote began driving away.
Eckrote told her that he was going to kill himself if she didn’t drop the protection from abuse order against him and drove to the area of the Plymouth Flats near the Susquehanna River.
The woman said Eckrote told her to remove her shirt, pants and under garments and that he “wanted to have sex with her one more time before he killed himself.”
The woman said she believed Eckrote was under the influence of some type of drug at the time. He then raped her.
Eckrote then tried to drive away with the woman, police said, but realized the vehicle was stuck in the mud. The woman said Eckrote then told her to start walking and make a right turn. She complied, she said, because she was afraid Eckrote would attack her again. She took her cell phone from her pocket and called 911.
Police said they searched the area for Eckrote but were unable to find him.
He surrendered in May at the office of District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke. Recently, a Luzerne County judge signed an order lowering Eckrote’s bail from $100,000 to $30,000.

1/6/2009
Two people threatened, money and cell phones taken in Nanticoke armed robbery
emoody@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2051

Nanticoke police are looking for a man they believe used a gun to threaten two people and steal money and cell phones before locking them inside a garage at Mike’s Service Center.
According to police, about 7:45 p.m. Monday, the suspect entered the service center at 277 Lower Broadway St., near the Nanticoke Bridge. A male attendant and female friend were the only people in the center.
The suspect, who was armed with a blue semi-automatic hand gun, ordered the attendant to hand over money, police said. The attendant handed over about $150 in cash. The suspect told the victims they would not be hurt if they cooperated.
The suspect then stole their cell phones and ripped out the pay phone in front of the service area and the phone in the back room of the center before locking the two victims inside the garage, according to police.
He then fled on foot. The attendant said they did not see his feet pass in front of the garage when the suspect left, leading them to believe he headed toward Nanticoke and not toward the bridge, police said, but the actual direction was unknown.
The victims were able to open the garage from inside and went next door to Mac’s Auto Co. to call police. No one was injured during the robbery, police said.
The suspect is described as a white male in his early 20s, about 6 feet tall or slightly shorter, with a thin build. He was wearing a white ski mask with a large eye opening, a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled up and black, baggy jeans.
Anyone with information is asked to call Nanticoke police at 735-2200 or 911.

1/3/2009
City police are probing a burglary that occurred at Uni-Mart, 18 N. Market St., Friday morning, police said.

The suspect forced a rear door open and disabled the alarm and phone system, according to Nanticoke police. Once inside, the suspect forced open the ATM.
Police said an undetermined amount of cash was stolen from the ATM and elsewhere in the story. Also stolen were 45 cartons of cigarettes.
Video surveillance revealed the suspect entered the store around 3 a.m., police said.
Anyone with information about the burglary is urged to contact Nanticoke Police Department at 735-2200.