New Luzerne cop had record
Accidental drowning victim was W-B resident
One of borough’s
newly hired officers
has pleaded guilty
to drug, traffic
charges; record
has been expunged
By Patrick Sweet and Bob Kalinowski
Staff Writers
A drug charge does not
necessarily disqualify a can-
didate from serving with the
new Luzerne Borough police
force.
Neither does careless driv-
ing or getting fired from a
past police job.
Jeremiah Cooper, one of
the five part-time officers
hired to staff Luzerne’s new-
ly formed police force has
been arrested and
COVER pleaded guilty twice
STORY in the last 15 months,
records show. He and
at least one of the others
hired during last Wednes-
day’s borough council meet-
ing were terminated from
other police departments in
recent years.
Cooper was fired from the
Shickshinny Police Depart-
ment in early 2009, according
to the department.
Some Luzerne officials
said they were aware of the
backgrounds of the officers,
who will hit the streets in a
week. They said they checked
references, conducted inter-
views and were satisfied
those selected were up to the
job serving on a police
department started from
scratch.
Forming the department,
though, has been wearing on
at least one borough official.
When asked about the latest
controversy to erupt since
Luzerne decided to form its
own force, borough Mayor
James Keller deferred ques-
tions to the borough’s soon-to-
be police Chief Paul Bow-
man.
“Don’t put us down for too
much negativity,” Keller said.
“We’ve been taking a beating
for this.”
Luzerne residents flooded
recent council meetings to
protest the decision to elimi-
nate a police pact with neigh-
WB_VOICE - CVDAILY - 3 - 06/25/10
Luzerne Borough Mayor James Keller reads from
a document during Wednesday’s meeting, at
which time the borough hired five part-time offi-
cers and a police chief.
citizensvoice Read the
complaint
against
Jeremiah Cooper at
citizensvoice.com.
boring Swoyersville that cost
Luzerne an annual fee of
$223,000 for full-time police
services. Hundreds signed a
petition against the forma-
tion of the department.
Records show Cooper, 28,
of Edwardsville, pleaded
guilty on Nov. 2, 2009 for use/
possession of drug parapher-
nalia — a “multi-colored
glass pipe” that “had green
burnt vegetable matter that
was identified as marijuana.”
Police in South Centre Town-
ship, Columbia County, found
the pipe during a March 2009
traffic stop in which they also
charged Cooper with driving
under the influence and ille-
gally possessing a concealed
firearm. Police later dropped
the DUI and firearm charges.
Cooper was sentenced to six
months probation and fined
$2,000. Though he successful-
ly petitioned to have his
MARK MORAN / THE CITIZENS’ VOICE
criminal record expunged
earlier this month, The Citi-
zens’ Voice on Thursday
obtained some records relat-
ed to the case.
According to court docu-
ments filed in the case by
South Centre police, a cell
phone caller notified police
of an erratic driver tailgating
her vehicle. Patrolman Shawn
Young also witnessed the
vehicle tailgating cars and
driving in the center, “left/
right turn lane” and on the
berm of the road. When he
pulled Cooper over, Cooper
exhibited signs of intoxica-
tion, according to documents.
Not long after they
approached, police took a .40-
caliber Glock 27 handgun
after Cooper advised them it
was in the glove compart-
ment. While searching the
vehicle for other weapons,
officers took note of two open
but near-empty 40-ounce bot-
tles of Coors Light and dis-
covered the pipe. Cooper
admitted he had been taking
some prescription medica- psweet@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2117;
tion as well. bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2055
WB_VOICE/PAGES [T03] | 06/24/10
NEWS IN BRIEF
After exiting the vehicle,
Cooper failed three field
sobriety tests before police
arrested him and took him to
the Columbia/Montour DUI
booking center. There, he reg-
istered 0.073 percent blood
alcohol concentration, which
is below the legal limit of 0.08
percent to be considered
intoxicated.
Court records also show
Cooper was arrested on July
13, 2009 for alleged reckless
driving in Larksville with his
6-year-old son in the car. Coo-
per was pulled over by Assis-
tant Larksville Police Chief
Stephen Kofchak on state
Route 11. Cooper was travel-
ing at a “very high rate of
speed” and passing vehicle in
the left-turn-only lane, arrest
papers say. The child was tak-
en home to Cooper’s wife and
Cooper was charged with
recklessly endangering anoth-
er person and traffic viola-
tions. Police later dropped
charges of reckless endanger-
ment and reckless driving. He
pleaded guilty to careless driv-
ing and driving in no passing
zones, which are summary
traffic citations.
No one answered the door
on two attempts to reach Coo-
per at his Edwardsville home.
His phone number is also not
listed and officials refused to
provide contact information.
Bowman said later that he
“advised Mr. Cooper not to
speak about these matters.”
Bowman said Cooper’s his-
tory isn’t an issue because
his criminal case was
expunged. Also, he said the
charges weren’t severe
enough to disqualify the offi-
cer. He listed excessive alco-
hol use or abuse and insubor-
dination as possible reasons
to disqualify an applicant.
“His background check
came back OK,” Bowman
said. “Satisfactory.”
Although Luzerne Bor-
ough officials say they con-
tacted Cooper’s references,
Shickshinny Mayor Beverly
Moore, who is in charge of
the police department, said
she was not contacted about
her former employee.
“As far as I know, we didn’t
receive a phone call,” Moore
said. “I hope that they
checked the references on the
officers who applied.”
22:26 | SUPERIMPWB
A 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 rural
township that sits just outside White Haven, said Leo
was found face down in Moosehead Lake by emergency
personnel after a two-hour search.
White Haven Officer-in-Charge Tom Szoke said Leo
stopped at the lake to fish two to three times each week but
was usually home by 8 p.m.
Szoke said Leo would park his car at a home on Tunnel
Road and walk to the lake to fish. When the homeowner
noticed Leo’s car was not moved by 10 p.m., the man
called Dennison Township fire Chief John “Jay” Marotta to
check on Leo.
Marotta said the volunteer fire department dispatched
its brush truck and three firefighters on all-terrain vehicles
to search for the man around the lake’s perimeter. He said
a firefighter and a neighbor familiar with the lake were in a
boat when they found the man about 150 yards away from
the 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
Implosion planned for Murray-Courtright smokestack
The only glimpse residents may get of the toppled
smokestack 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 for
redevelopment as a 31 single-family home subdivision on
the former industrial site, according to a city release. No
members of the public will be allowed to view the site.
Streets surrounding the demolition site will be closed to
traffic from 10 to 11:30 a.m., and all residents living within a
one-block radius have been notified of the event, according
to the release. Steps will be taken to contain scattering dust
and debris, but large dust clouds are possible.
Demolition began on the site in early May and is expected
to finish by the end of July. After that, construction on roads
and 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 by
Housing Corporation of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
City to distribute free smoke detectors, health forms
The Wilkes-Barre Health Department will distribute 100
free smoke detectors along with emergency medical forms
to residents as part of fire safety month.
Residents can pick up the detectors and a “File of Life”
THE CITIZENS’ VOICE
document from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the Kirby
Health Center, located at 71 N. Franklin St., according to a
city release. In order to receive a detector, residents must
present a valid proof of residence.
“I urge residents to take this opportunity to protect their
homes 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-Barre
Health Department at 570-208-4628.
FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2010 – 3
— Staff report
TODAY’S BEST BET
“The Best of Broadway” will be performed at 8 p.m. today at
Theatre at the Grove, Nuangola Road and Lake Avenue,
Nuangola. Tickets are $20. For information, call 868-8212.
CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS
It is our policy to correct errors promptly. To report an er-
ror, please call the city desk at 821-2056.