There is a group of students at Coughlin High School who use Luzerne County Transportation Authority buses for transportation.

They gather in front of the Martz Bus terminal on Wilkes-Barre’s Public Square waiting for their buses.

I estimate the location is within 1,000 feet of the school, designating the area as a drug-free school zone under state law.

I even consider the fountain in the middle of Public Square within Coughlin’s drug-free school zone.

I raise this issue because Christopher Rodney Washington, 46, who resides at a homeless shelter, was arrested twice within three weeks on charges he intended to sell heroin on Public Square, according to arrest and court records.

Sentencing guidelines under the drug-free school zone calls for a mandatory two-year prison sentence if a drug dealer is convicted of delivery or possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, said Luzerne County Deputy District Attorney David Pedri.

Those guidelines also apply to convictions of the same offense within 250 feet of a recreation center, playground or school bus stop.

One can debate if Public Square is considered a playground or an actual school bus stop.

I remember playing on what I consider monkey bars on the eastern side of Public Square.

You know the monkey bars, the one constructed around a large egg-shaped stone.

City police in arrest records allege Washington on Sept. 20 stood in front of Luzerne National Bank, directly across the street from the monkey bars, asking people if they wanted to buy heroin.

According to arrest records, Washington was searched and officers, according to arrest records, found 150 packets of heroin stamped “Fabulous,” more than $1,170 cash, and a cell phone that rang constantly.

Court records indicate Washington was free without bail when he was arrested the second time on Oct. 9.

Arrest records from that incident claim police stopped Washington to talk to him near the fountain in the middle of Public Square.

While doing so, police asked if he had any drugs on him.

“Washington said he had a couple of packets of heroin on him,” arrest records state.

Police eventually found 258 packets of heroin and a cell phone, arrest records say, in Washington’s pockets.

Washington faces separate charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance stemming from the two arrests.

Burden of proof

Prosecutors will be required under the drug-free school zone law to prove Washington’s arrests took place within 1,000 feet of Coughlin High School or that the public bus stop in front of the Martz Bus Terminal is an actual school bus stop.

A good lawyer, and there are many at the Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office that is representing Washington, can challenge the distance and the bus stop.

To eliminate any uncertainty in the future, the city should install a sliding board on Public Square to legally designate it as a playground.

And perhaps someone can tell me the reason why the stone egg was built into those monkey bars.

About the Author

Ed Lewis covers police news for the Times Leader. Reach him at elewis@timesleader.com.

Ed Lewis covers police for The Times Leader. A graduate of Hanover Area, he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from King’s College where he also minored in political science. He interned for Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski in Washington, D.C., while in college, and formerly was an assignment editor and managing editor before finding his niche covering the very busy police beat. His hobbies include lifting weights, kickboxing, reading, carpentry, gardening, model trains and sports, especially football.

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