Drevenik
A Wilkes-Barre Township man was charged on allegations he stole a Verizon van from its Casey Avenue facility and set the van on fire in Laurel Run last month.
Wilkes-Barre Township police charged Jason Jeffrey Drevenik, 38, of Keating Street, with burglary, theft, criminal trespass, reckless burning and risking a catastrophe in connection with the alleged van theft and fire Aug. 10, according to the criminal complaint.
Drevenik was arraigned Wednesday by District Judge Kyle Halesey of Hanover Township and jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $75,000 bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
A Verizon van was stolen from a facility on Casey Avenue and later found on fire near Giants Despair in Laurel Run on Aug. 10.
Video footage from Casey Avenue showed a man driving the Verizon van from the facility just before 5 a.m.
During the investivation, township detectives identified Drevenik as a person of interest after learning he worked as a mechanic at the Verizon facility through a third-party contractor. Drevenik was terminated from the job in 2024 due to erratic and inappropriate behavior, the complaint says.
When Drevenik was questioned by detectives on Aug. 11, the complaint alleges, he had an odor of smoke coming from his clothing he claimed was due to burning oily rags in a burn pit at his residence.
Detectives learned Drevenik had called another person to pick up him in Laurel Run on Aug. 10, the same morning of the van fire.
At the scene of the fire, detectives recovered a shoe that matched the other shoe Drevenik wore when he was picked up by the other person in Laurel Run in the area of the van fire, the complaint alleges.
Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more.
Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism.