8/7/2019 062510 Luzerne Cop Record

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WB_VOICE - CVDAILY - 3 - 06/25/10 WB_VOICE/PAGES [T03] 06/24/10 22:26 SUPERIMPWB

The Wilkes-Barre Health Department will distribute 100free smoke detectors along with emergency medical formsto residents as part of fire safety month.

Residents can pick up the detectors and a File of Lifedocument from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the KirbyHealth Center, located at 71 N. Franklin St., according to acity release. In order to receive a detector, residents mustpresent a valid proof of residence.

I urge residents to take this opportunity to protect theirhomes and loved ones from the dangers of smoke and fire,Mayor Tom Leighton said in the release.

For information, call Susan Kennedy of the Wilkes-BarreHealth Department at 570-208-4628.

Staff report

NEWS IN BRIEF

TODAYS BEST BET

It is our policy to correct errors promptly. To report an er-ror, please call the city desk at 821-2056.

The Best of Broadwaywill be performed at 8 p.m. today atTheatre at the Grove, Nuangola Road and Lake Avenue,Nuangola. Tickets are $20. For information, call 868-8212.

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS

The only glimpse residents may get of the toppledsmokestack at the Murray-Courtright complex in Wilkes-Barre today is the dust billowing in the sky.

Around 10:30 a.m., Controlled Demolition Inc. will

implode the smokestack on the tract of property slated forredevelopment as a 31 single-family home subdivision onthe former industrial site, according to a city release. Nomembers of the public will be allowed to view the site.

Streets surrounding the demolition site will be closed totraffic from 10 to 11:30 a.m., and all residents living within aone-block radius have been notified of the event, accordingto the release. Steps will be taken to contain scattering dustand debris, but large dust clouds are possible.

Demolition began on the site in early May and is expectedto finish by the end of July. After that, construction on roadsand side streets is expected to get underway for the roughly$2.4 million residential project on the site along Courtright

Avenue and Darling Street, which is being overseen byHousing Corporation of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Implosion planned for Murray-Courtright smokestack

City to distribute free smoke detectors, health forms

Accidental drowning victim was W-B residentA Wilkes-Barre man who frequented a Dennison

Township lake died while fishing there Wednesday.Charles Leo, 75, died as a result of an accidental

drowning, Luzerne County Deputy Coroner Gerald Jones Jr.ruled.

White Haven Borough police, which patrols the ruraltownship that sits just outside White Haven, said Leowas found face down in Moosehead Lake by emergencypersonnel after a two-hour search.

White Haven Officer-in-Charge Tom Szoke said Leostopped at the lake to fish two to three times each week butwas usually home by 8 p.m.

Szoke said Leo would park his car at a home on TunnelRoad and walk to the lake to fish. When the homeownernoticed Leos car was not moved by 10 p.m., the mancalled Dennison Township fire Chief John Jay Marotta tocheck on Leo.

Marotta said the volunteer fire department dispatchedits brush truck and three firefighters on all-terrain vehiclesto search for the man around the lakes perimeter. He saida firefighter and a neighbor familiar with the lake were in a

boat when they found the man about 150 yards away fromthe staging area.The lake stretches 2 to 3 acres and reaches depths of 15

to 20 feet, Szoke said.Leo was found in a more shallow area about 3 to 4 feet

deep, he said. Amanda Christman

New Luzerne cop had record

By Patrick Sweet and Bob KalinowskiStaff Writers

A drug charge does notnecessarily disqualify a can-didate fromservingwith thenewLuzerne Borough policeforce.

Neitherdoes careless driv-ing or getting fired from apastpolice job.

Jeremiah Cooper, one of the five part-time officershired to staff Luzernes new-ly formed police force has

been arrested andpleaded guilty twicein the last 15months,records show. He and

at least one of the others

hired during last Wednes-days borough council meet-ing were terminated fromother police departments inrecentyears.

Cooperwas fired from theShickshinny Police Depart-ment in early2009, accordingto thedepartment.

Some Luzerne officialssaid they were aware of thebackgrounds of the officers,who will hit the streets in a

week. Theysaid theycheckedreferences, conducted inter-views and were satisfiedthoseselected were up to the job serving on a policedepartment started fromscratch.

Forming the department,though, hasbeen wearingonat least one borough official.When asked about the latestcontroversy to erupt sinceLuzerne decided to form its

own force, borough MayorJames Keller deferred ques-tions to theboroughs soon-to-be police Chief Paul Bow-man.

Dontput us down fortoomuchnegativity, Kellersaid.Weve been taking a beatingfor this.

Luzerne residents floodedrecent council meetings toprotest the decision to elimi-nate a policepact with neigh-

boringSwoyersville that costLuzerne an annual fee of $223,000 for full-time policeservices. Hundreds signed apetition against the forma-tionof the department.

Records show Cooper, 28,of Edwardsville, pleadedguilty on Nov. 2, 2009for use/possessionof drug parapher-nalia a multi-coloredglass pipe that had greenburnt vegetable matter thatwasidentifiedas marijuana.Policein South CentreTown-ship,ColumbiaCounty, foundthe pipe during a March 2009trafficstopin whichtheyalsochargedCooperwith drivingunder the influence and ille-gally possessing a concealedfirearm.Police later droppedtheDUI andfirearmcharges.Cooper was sentenced to sixmonths probation and fined$2,000. Though he successful-ly petitioned to have his

criminal record expungedearlier this month, The Citi-zens Voice on Thursdayobtainedsomerecords relat-edto the case.

According to court docu-ments filed in the case bySouth Centre police, a cellphone caller notified policeof anerraticdriver tailgatinghervehicle.PatrolmanShawnYoung also witnessed thevehicle tailgating cars anddriving in the center, left/right turn lane and on theberm of the road. When hepulled Cooper over, Cooperexhibited signs of intoxica-tion,accordingto documents.

N o t l o n g a f t e r t h e yapproached, police took a .40-caliber Glock 27 handgunafter Cooper advisedthem itwas in the glove compart-ment. While searching thevehicle for other weapons,officerstooknoteof twoopenbutnear-empty 40-ounce bot-tles of Coors Light and dis-covered the pipe. Cooperadmitted he hadbeen takingsome prescription medica-tion aswell.

After exiting the vehicle,Cooper failed three fieldsobriety tests before policearrested himand took himtothe Columbia/Montour DUIbooking center. There, he reg-istered 0.073 percent blood

alcohol concentration, whichisbelowthe legal limitof 0.08percent to be consideredintoxicated.

Court records also showCooper was arrested on July13, 2009 for alleged recklessdriving in Larksvillewithhis6-year-old son in thecar. Coo-perwaspulledover byAssis-tant Larksville Police Chief Stephen Kofchak on stateRoute 11. Cooper was travel-

ing at a very high rate of speed andpassing vehicle inthe left-turn-only lane, arrestpapers say. The child was tak-en home to Cooperswife andCooper was charged withrecklesslyendangeringanoth-er person and traffic viola-tions. Police later droppedchargesof recklessendanger-ment andreckless driving. Hepleadedguiltyto carelessdriv-inganddriving in no passing

zones, which are summarytrafficcitations.No oneanswered the door

on two attemptsto reachCoo-perat hisEdwardsvillehome.Hisphonenumber is also notlisted andofficialsrefusedtoprovide contact information.Bowman said later that headvised Mr. Cooper not tospeakabout thesematters.

Bowman saidCoopershis-tory isnt an issue becauseh i s c r imina l ca se wasexpunged. Also, he said thecharges werent severeenough to disqualify theoffi-cer. He listed excessive alco-holuse or abuseand insubor-dination as possible reasonsto disqualifyan applicant.

His background checkcame back OK, Bowmansaid. Satisfactory.

Although Luzerne Bor-ough officials say they con-tacted Coopers references,Shickshinny Mayor BeverlyMoore, who is in charge of the police department, saidshe was not contacted abouther formeremployee.

As faras I know, we didntreceivea phone call,Mooresaid . I hope that theychecked the referenceson theofficerswho applied.

psweet@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2117;bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2055

One of boroughsnewly hired officershas pleaded guilty

to drug, trafficcharges; recordhas been expunged

COVERSTORY

MARK MORAN / THE CITIZENS VOICE

Luzerne Borough Mayor James Keller reads froma document during Wednesdays meeting, atwhich time the borough hired five part-time offi-cers and a police chief.

Read thecomplaintagainst

Jeremiah Cooper atcitizensvoice.com.

citizensvoice

T H E C I T I Z E N S V O I C E

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