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WILKES-BARRE — Wilkes-Barre City Officer Alan Gribble was handed a photo of the Walmart in Wilkes-Barre Township during the second day of Scott Sargent’s trial.
When asked to identify the scene, Gribble said in a hushed tone: “That was the war zone we were at that day.”
Meanwhile, after Wednesday’s lunch break, Sargent’s defense brought concerns to the judge about jurors potentially watching news reports of the trial.
One juror was questioned out of the courtroom, but she eventually returned to her seat in the jury box as the trial continued without interruption.
Witnesses for the prosecution mostly consisted of officers who were at Walmart on Oct. 17, 2015. They told the jury how Sargent, 33, of Shenandoah, opened fire on them with an AR-15 style assault rifle.
They described a situation in which they were drastically “outgunned,” according to one officer.
Besides Gribble, those testifying included Wilkes-Barre Police Sergeant Joseph Sinavage, Wilkes-Barre Officer Mitchell Rennick, and Wilkes-Barre Township officers Brian Bouton, Jude Allen and Lee Ann Reh.
Allen started the day watching over Wegmans before rushing to Walmart after reports of an active shooter came over the radio.
When Allen arrived, he said he saw a large crowd fleeing, and Sargent with an assault rifle near Walmart’s auto center. Allen tried to get closer to Sargent, ducking between cars for cover while Sargent fired off rounds, he recalled.
Allen said he began shouting at Sargent to drop his weapon, while Sargent shouted: “F—- you, pigs. Come get some.” Allen then became the target of Sargent’s fire, and the officer took cover behind the engine block of a police vehicle.
Prosecutor Jarrett Ferentino asked Allen what he did then.
“I prayed, sir,” he replied.
Allen later dashed for cover behind a corner of a building that was closer to Sargent, saying this gave him a “fighting chance” because he got into a position where Sargent was within range of his handgun. Allen fired 15 shots in Sargent’s direction, unloading a full magazine.
Officer Bouton, meanwhile, got behind the wheel of a Wilkes-Barre Township Police SUV that had been vacated by another officer, and he began to drive the vehicle toward Sargent’s location to tactically provide cover for other officers.
He acknowledged to Ferrentino that he knew he was putting his own life at risk for the safety of his colleagues.
While he was driving toward Sargent, Bouton said the suspect brought his rifle up, looking through the scope and aiming in his direction.
“I thought, ‘Oh, s—-, this is going to hurt,’” Bouton told the jury. He described ducking toward the passenger seat of the SUV, just as a bullet passed through the windshield and the headrest of the driver’s seat.
“I would’ve been hit in the right eye,” Bouton said. Another bullet pierced the radiator of the police SUV, bringing it to a stop. Both Allen and Sinavage testified they believed Bouton was dead at that point.
‘This is it’
The bulk of defense attorneys Joseph Yeager and Melissa Sulima’s cross-examination centered around asking police to confirm they had not been injured. Each officer said they had not suffered any sort of physical damage in the hail of bullets.
Gribble, who was armed with a shotgun, testified bullets whizzed past his face while he tried to get closer to Sargent. He said Sargent eventually fled from his location, hiding behind large shipping containers at the rear of Walmart. Gribble and Allen then began a tactical rush at Sargent.
Gribble described Sargent emerging from hiding when he locked eyes with Gribble.
“I thought, ‘This is it,’” he said. Gribble said the defendant began raising the rifle toward him, and he made the decision to fire on Sargent, striking him in the abdomen.
Yeager later pointed out Sargent did not actually take a shot at the officer.
“He had already shot at me before,” Gribble said. “I wasn’t going to give him another chance.”
After the lunch recess and before the jury returned, Sulima approached Luzerne County Judge David Lupas with a concern that members of the jury had been potentially watching reports on the trial.
Sulima said Sargent told her one juror got the attention of a second, pointed at a sticker of the pope on the suspect’s folder, and whispered: “It’s still there.”
Sulima suggested the sticker may have been pointed out because it was referenced in WNEP’s coverage of the trial Tuesday night.
Lupas asked the jurors if any of them had watched media coverage. The two jurors pointed out by Sargent did not speak up, but a third juror said the news was on in her house Tuesday night.
That juror was taken out of the courtroom to be questioned by Lupas and members of counsel, but she eventually returned to her seat.
Sargent was returned to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. His trial continues Thursday morning.