First Posted: 3/3/2015
Wilkes-Barre police: Woman urinate, exposed butt in cell
Police responded to a multiple vehicle crash over the weekend at Scott and East Main Streets. Upon arrival, police detained Sherman Anderson, Shavone Saxon and Cree Carrington.
Police said Saxon smelled of alcohol, had glassy eyes and slurred speech, and repeatedly muttered “Expletive) you, you kill us.”
Police said Saxon was advised that she was under arrest, allegedly refusing to submit and fighting with officers. Police said two additional officers had to be brought in to make the arrest.
While in holding, Saxon exposed her butt, slammed her feet off the cell door, urinated on the floor and screamed, officers said. Saxon was removed from the cell and placed in a restraint chair for the remainder of her stay.
Leo Matus newstand, a landmark of Wilkes-Barre Public Square closes
After nearly 70 years, Public Square is without a Leo Matus newsstand in operation.
The latest location at 46 Public Square closed recently. A new proprietor was supposed to move in, but that plan apparently fell through. Signs have been placed in the windows of the former news stand, indicating the space is for lease.
Attorney Jonathan Comitz, with offices on Public Square in the same building as Matus News, represented the previous operator, Alex Patel.
Comitz said Patel decided to retire and was going to sell the business to another operator. Comitz said he didn’t know why the deal apparently fell through with PSA Realty, the company that owns the building.
The building, located between East Market and North Main streets, is seven-stories high. Ownership was transferred Jan. 9 to PSA Realty for $4.54 million, according to records filed in the Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds office.
Man wanted shootout with Wilkes-Barre police
City police peacefully settled what could have been a tense situation at an employment business on South Main Street Monday morning.
Police said Roberto Herrera, 26, of Wilkes-Barre, was inside Labor Ready claiming he had a handgun. Herrera refused to leave the building telling people inside he would wait for officers, police said.
Police said Herrera hid behind a desk telling officers he wanted to get in a shootout. Herrera was apprehended without incident and transported to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital for a mental health evaluation, police said.
Police said Herrera is facing terroristic threat related charges.
Nearly $2K more in bras stolen from Victoria’s Secret in Wyoming Valley Mall
Is there a serial bra thief or is it a coincidence that undergarments keep getting stolen from Victoria’s Secret inside the Wyoming Valley Mall?
Since last March, there have been four reported thefts of multiple bras from the store.
The latest theft was reported by the store manager last week when 39 bras from display drawers were stolen sometime between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The bras stolen were Body by Victoria Perfect Comfort, Tshirt Demi and Dream Angels Multiway. Value of the stolen merchandise is $1,773, police said.
In February, the manager reported 94 bras were stolen from display drawers valued at $4,166.
An employee at the same store reported last July that an unknown person had stolen 75 bras valued at $4,200.
And in March 2014, the store manager reported $4,014 worth of clothing was stolen from the store.
FNCB fined $1.5 million in connection with ‘Kids for Cash’ scandal
First National Community Bank of Dunmore has been fined $1.5 million in connection with the Kids for Cash juvenile justice system scandal in Luzerne County.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, an arm of the U.S. Department of Treasury, assessed the civil penalty against FNCB of Dunmore for willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act, FinCEN said in a news release.
The bank admitted that it failed to file suspicious activity reports on transactions involving illicit proceeds from the judicial corruption scheme – spanning over five years – for which former Luzerne County judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella were ultimately convicted and imprisoned.
Conahan and Ciavarella misused their positions as judges to profit from, among other things, sending thousands of juveniles to detention facilities in which they had a financial interest.
Conahan was on FNCB’s board of directors and controlled accounts at the bank through which he processed the proceeds of his illegal activity. Despite several red flags indicating suspicious activity, FNCB did not file a single suspicious activity report related to these accounts until after Conahan’s first guilty plea in 2009, according to court documents.
