William Tibbetts when he played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2001.
Times Leader file photo
PLAINS TWP. — Former professional hockey player William Thomas Tibbetts was apprehended Tuesday at a motel in Plains Township on a warrant in Massachusetts.
Tibbetts, 51, of Warwick, R.I., was arrested by the U.S. Marshals and Plains Township police at the Red Roof Inn on state Route 315, according to court records.
Tibbetts was wanted by the Scituate, Mass., Police Department on a warrant issued Feb. 4, 2026, alleging violation of a protective order listing the original offense as harassment. The warrant was issued by a Massachusetts judge and listed neighboring states, including Pennsylvania, for extradition.
After Tibbetts was apprehended, he was arraigned by District Judge Alexandra Kokura Kravitz of Pittston on the fugitive from justice warrant and was released from the Luzerne County Correctional Facility after posting $25,000 bail.
An extradition hearing is scheduled before Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr. on March 25.
Tibbetts played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins from 2000 to 2002, and had stints in the National Hockey League with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, and New York Rangers.
According to The Patriot Ledger newspaper based in Quincy, Mass., Tibbetts in 2019 served jail time for harassing the Scituate police chief and possession of a controlled substance.