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Police Blotter

FAIRMOUNT TWP. – George Beers, 53, of Sweet Valley, was killed at around 4:45 p.m. Monday when a tree he was cutting down fell on him, state police said.

Beers was attempting to fell the oak tree in his backyard on Goss Road, approximately one mile south of state Route 118.

County Deputy Coroner Clark Piatt transported the body to the hospital. Emergency responders from both Huntington Township and Sweet Valley assisted at the scene.

MIFLIN TWP. – The driver of a tractor-trailer died Monday afternoon around 2:15 p.m. after his truck collided with the barrier on Interstate 80 in Columbia County and burst into flames, state police said.

The truck went out of control after it clipped the left rear of a broken-down 1997 Ford Explorer that was being pushed out of the roadway, state police said. The westbound rig then slid along the right traffic barrier and became engulfed in flames before it stopped, blocking both lanes.

The driver wasn’t able to get out of the vehicle for unknown reasons, state police said.

Jessica Curry, a 38-year-old Bloomsburg resident who was driving the Explorer, was injured in the crash and was flown to a hospital for treatment, state police said. Her condition was unknown.

Two pedestrians who were helping push the Explorer, 46-year-old Gary Curry and 19-year-old Dustin Snyder, both of Bloomsburg, were uninjured

SWOYERSVILLE – William McCroskey, 37, of Swoyersville was arrested around 10 p.m. Wednesday after officers were called to a disturbance on Pettebone Street, borough police reported.

McCroskey was charged with simple assault, aggravated assault, making terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person and harassment and was lodged at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for overnight arraignment.

FOSTER TWP. – Adam Kotsko, 26, of Freeland, was charged with recklessly endangering another person after a bullet from a gun he fired went through a window in Michelle Mondero’s apartment at 433 Green St., state police said.

The incident occurred around 9 a.m. Sunday after Kotsko had an argument with his girlfriend, who wasn’t in the room at the time of the .38-caliber handgun’s discharge, police stated. Kotsko admitted to firing twice and consented to a search of the residence. A state police forensics unit confirmed that the shots came from Kotsko’s location.

WILKES-BARRE TWP. – Township police reported the following incidents:

• Township resident Josh Morio, 18, and four Wilkes-Barre juvenile males, ages 16 and 17, were cited around 11:45 p.m. Friday with underage drinking in the wooded area near Shannon Street.

• A 17-year-old female from Pittston was arrested around 5:45 p.m. Friday on evidence of shoplifting at JCPenney in the Wyoming Valley Mall.

She will be charged with a misdemeanor count of retail theft, police said.

• Justin Siegel, 20, of Wilkes-Barre, was arrested around 3:45 a.m. Saturday after he was allegedly found in possession of suspected marijuana when police inspected his vehicle during a traffic stop on Spring Street. He will be charged with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, police said.

• Martin Hartranft reported around 9:30 p.m. Saturday that the passenger-side window of his vehicle was smashed and a digital camera, valued at $220, was stolen while the vehicle was parked at the Red Lobster parking lot in the East End Center.

• Deanna Harris reported around 5:30 p.m. Sunday that her cell phone was stolen while she was at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in the Wilkes-Barre Township Marketplace on Highland Boulevard. The phone’s value was estimated at $400.

WILKES-BARRE – City police reported the following incidents:

• Anthony Gearage reported around 11:30 a.m. Monday that two men knocked at his apartment door at 80 E. Lafayette Place. He closed the door, but the pair forced it open. He hid in the bedroom and closed that door, but the men jabbed a knife through it, cutting Gearage’s arm.

The pair, who were wearing black hoods, then fled. Gearage was transported to the hospital for treatment.

• A representative of the Jewish Community Center at 60 S. River St. reported around 8 a.m. Monday that a section of the roof was spray-painted.