News

May 31, 2008

Wilkes Barre man sought in deadly shooting

Cops: Man was killed during gun sale gone bad

By Ed Lewis elewis@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
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A Tunkhannock man was shot and killed Thursday after the sale of an assault rifle turned deadly. Police say they are searching for a 20-year-old Wilkes-Barre man who allegedly pulled the trigger.

An arrest warrant was issued Friday for Gregory Orlando Fann, 20, of Wilkes-Barre, for the shooting death of 19-year-old Aaron J. Witko in a secluded area near the Susquehanna River in Edwardsville, police said.

Luzerne County District Attorney Jacqueline Musto Carroll made the announcement during a news conference at the state police barracks in Wyoming Friday afternoon. Fann is wanted on charges of criminal homicide, robbery and theft by unlawful taking, according to police.

Investigators say Fann shot Witko near the Wilkes-Barre Railroad Connecting Bridge, commonly known as the Black Diamond Bridge, sometime after 3 p.m. Thursday.

Witko’s death is believed to be over the sale of an assault rifle, according to Carroll, who said such incidents of violence occur all too often in the area.

She said the face of the community has changed: “We have people here who are shooting each other, killing each other right in our streets, and we’ve pretty much become like the big cities.”

Fann, of Maple Lane in Wilkes-Barre, has ties to New Jersey, and is considered armed and dangerous, police said.

“We do believe we have the murder weapon in our possession,” said state police Lt. Rich Krawetz. “However, ballistic testing will be necessary to make that determination positive.”

Krawetz said two guns have been recovered: a pistol allegedly used in the homicide and the assault rifle that was going to be sold.

Witko’s body was found lying on his left side on the ground at about 7 p.m. Thursday. He suffered from gunshot wounds to his left wrist and head and was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m.

An autopsy showed the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, and the manner of death is homicide, according to the Luzerne County Coroner’s Office.

Witko planned to sell his rifle for $300, police said. He made arrangements to sell the weapon to a man known as “G,” who was later identified as Fann.

Fann agreed to meet with Witko on Thursday in the area known as the Black Diamond to buy the rifle for $200 and one ounce of marijuana.

Witnesses told investigators they saw Fann and Witko, along with two others, walk from east to west across the Black Diamond Bridge to a secluded area below the bridge, according to police.

On Friday, a friend of the victim, Joshua Eric Dixon, 19, of Luzerne, told police his friend, Witko, approached him several days ago about selling a military assault rifle. Dixon told Fann about Witko having an assault rifle for sale, according to the affidavit. Fann told Dixon he was interested, and Dixon brokered a deal in which Fann would buy the rifle for $200 cash and $100 in marijuana.

As part of the deal, Fann wanted to test fire the weapon at the Black Diamond Bridge before buying it, police said.

Around 4:30 p.m., Witko and an acquaintance, Mitchell Long, picked up Dixon at his home in Long’s white Jeep. They planned a meeting in the wooded area of Black Diamond Bridge on the Wilkes-Barre side.

When they got there, Fann was already standing there with two males, a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old. As they left the Jeep, they pulled out a khaki-colored duffle bag.

Dixon told police he and Long waited along the Wilkes-Barre side of the bridge while Witko and Fann walked west across the bridge toward Edwardsville. A short time later, according to Dixon, he heard four shots, but thought the rifle was being test-fired.

A half-hour to 45 minutes had gone by and there was still no sign of Witko, Fann or the teens, according to the affidavit.

A man passing through the area told Dixon and Long he saw a body in the woods and asked them for a cell phone. Dixon told police he looked over the left side of the bridge where he saw his friend’s lifeless body lying on the ground.

Troopers with the state police Forensic Services Unit returned to the area Friday morning where they spent several hours searching the wooded area. A state trooper canine team was also involved in the search Friday morning.

Earlier in the day, Fann was questioned by police. He said he grabbed the duffel bag containing the rifle and hid it near the area of the shooting. Fann volunteered to find the bag for investigators and led them to an old pile of railroad ties and pointed to a green military style duffel bag, according to the affidavit.

Fann told police he was present when Witko was shot, helped them find the bag and then left the Wyoming barracks.

Investigators later Friday morning searched Fann’s home at 26 Maple Lane, in Wilkes-Barre, where they recovered a Virginian Dragoon .44 Magnum Revolver, a gun they believe is the murder weapon.

The area where the body was found is mostly used by people riding all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes. It routinely floods when the river rises to 11 feet.

Mike Fahnestock, of Kingston, said he’s never seen any problems in the area where he routinely jogs.

“I’m surprised, really,” Fahnestock said standing on the levee. “I’ll avoid that area now and stay up here.”

Neil Curley, 42, of Wilkes-Barre, said he rode his bicycle past the area on Thursday.

“I’m surprised something like this happened, the (Kirby) park and the river are probably the safest it’s been,” Curley said.

Anyone with information about Fann is asked to contact state police at Wyoming at 697-2000.

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