Slaying suspect among 4 nabbed

WILKES-BARRE – Homicide suspect Randall R. Rushing wasn’t the only person apprehended in the High Street apartment that was raided by special tactical team officers on Thursday.

Police also nabbed two men and a male juvenile on drug possession charges, according to arrest records.

Rushing, 25, was captured without incident after a daylong search that began around 7 a.m. in Scranton, where three people were found dead inside a home on South Irving Avenue, Luzerne County District Attorney Jacqueline Musto Carroll said.

Scranton police allege Rushing killed Dustin Hintz, 22, Leslie Collier, 16, and Justin Berrios, 21, inside 1604 S. Irving Ave., Scranton, over a relationship dispute with his girlfriend, Samantha Hintz, according to arrest records.

Authorities tracked Rushing’s cell phone number to cell phone towers in Wilkes-Barre, specifically the Sherman Hills neighborhood Thursday morning, according to a search warrant affidavit.

Police converged on the Sherman Hills area and waited until they learned a Mercury Sable that Rushing was believed to be driving was found parked on High Street.

An informant told authorities Rushing was inside 268 High St., about 40 yards from where the Mercury was found. Police kept a continuous surveillance on the vehicle and the residence until District Judge William Amesbury in Wilkes-Barre signed a warrant at 3:30 p.m. permitting authorities to search the High Street apartment.

A special tactical team raided the premises and captured Rushing shortly before 4:30 p.m.

Also arrested were Lenny Clements, 29, of West Palm Beach, Fla., Reuben Phillips, 17, of Hempstead, N.Y., and a male juvenile. They were inside the residence, according to arrest records.

Arrest records indicate authorities found a large amount of marijuana, a scale, money, cell phones and a scanner used to intercept police communications inside the apartment.

Clements and Phillips were each charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. They were jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $10,000 bail each, according to court records.

Preliminary hearings for Clements and Phillips are tentatively scheduled for July 28 in Central Court.

Greg Barrouk, deputy city administrator, said the apartment building was condemned because it was unfit for human habitation. The building and windows that were smashed during the raid were boarded to prevent entry.