Police Beat by

On April 24, Criminal Investigators from PA State Police - Fern Ridge were contacted by the Collin County Sheriff’s Office, State of Texas, in regards to a “swatting calls” investigation. Swatting calls are when a person calls 911 and describes an emergency happening at a location, when it really isn’t happening.

An address in Jackson Township, Monroe County, was established as the location initiating these Swatting calls.

Seth Isenberg

On May 2, criminal investigators from PSP-F, along with investigators from the Collin County Texas Sheriff’s Office, served a search warrant on the address in Jackson Township. During a forensic download of a 17 y/o male juvenile’s computer, a total of 9 Swatting calls were discovered—made to Florida, Oregon, California, Tennessee, and Kentucky, and other U.S. locations. Child pornography was also discovered on the computer. He was taken into custody.

A juvenile petition has been filed against him with charges of False Alarms, False Reports, Possession of Child Pornography, and Possession of Instruments of a Crime. He was placed in the Bucks County Juvenile Detention Center while awaiting court.

Just after 2 p.m. on 5-8, police were called to the Dollar Tree store in Mount Pocono due to a fight in the store. Pocono Mountain Regional Police officers were advised that a 19 y/o woman assaulted employees who caught her shoplifting. She also pepper sprayed them, before fleeing. The suspect was located at her Hummingbird Drive, Pocono Summit home and arrested. The pepper spray was confiscated.

4-27, a ChildLine report shows a father and his 16 y/o son had an argument about a failed drivers license test, and the son was hit in the face during the argument. The son chose to stop the investigation and not have his father arrested – PSP-F.

Keeping the rubber side down PMRP was called to the ShopRite plaza in Mt. Pocono on 5-9 because an elderly driver sped up in the parking lot and hit another car that was stopped and waiting to park. The elderly driver’s car bounced off the other car and struck racks of potted plants on display outside the store – and one rack of these went through a store window injuring a cashier. The driver and the cashier were sent to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

4-30, 3:50 p.m., the driver of a ’17 Freightliner heading west on Interstate 80 in Tobyhanna Township had a tire come apart. This caused his truck to veer into the curb and then off the road and into some trees. Despite wearing his lap and shoulder belt, he was seriously hurt. Responding PSP-F Troopers Pawloski and Gaetano performed life saving measures. He was transported to Geisinger Wyoming for trauma care. The road was partially blocked until the truck and trailer were removed. The trailer was loaded with used batteries - it did not spill.

4-27, 7:40 a.m., the driver of a ’21 Chevy Tahoe, a local woman, turned her northbound SUV toward the ramp for the PA Turnpike north but straight into the path of an oncoming ’22 Mercedes Sprinter Van that was southbound on Route 903. No one was hurt. The Tahoe was towed because it was a company vehicle. The Sprinter

See POLICE BEAT, page 13