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HANOVER TWP. — A fatal shooting at the Sherman Hills apartment complex was ruled a homicide, and the victim died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Luzerne County Coroner’s Office.

Meanwhile, city police have not released further information about the incident Wednesday night.

Deputy Coroner Dan Hughes said Friday an autopsy was conducted on victim Devon Clive Stevens, 32, by forensic pathologist Dr. Gary Ross.

Police found Stevens with multiple gunshot wounds to the body outside Building 308 at about 10:21 p.m. Stevens was transported to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center where he died shortly after arrival, police said.

Police suspect Stevens was involved in an argument with one or more people inside a dark colored vehicle. As the argument escalated, a person in the vehicle pulled out a firearm and fired multiple rounds at Stevens, who collapsed in front of the apartment building.

No charges have been filed.

Court records say city police charged Stevens with drug trafficking offenses last fall. He was never arraigned on the charges that were filed with District Judge Thomas Malloy on Oct. 5.

Stevens was paroled from state prison in 2016 while serving a 15- to 30-month sentence on firearm and drug offenses in Hanover Township and Forty Fort, court records say.

And in October 2011, Forty Fort police and the Luzerne County Drug Task Force charged Stevens with selling crack cocaine on Welles Street in Forty Fort.

Stevens’ homicide is the city’s second and Luzerne County’s seventh this year:

• Jan. 28: Joseph John Marchetti, 52, was charged with the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, Antoniette Wilkinson, 46, inside their Foster Township residence. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Marchetti.

• Feb. 7: Robert Rodriguez, 23, of Plymouth, and Isaiah Tyrone Jennings, 20, are charged with criminal homicide in the fatal shooting of Trevor Oliver, 41, inside a Hutson Street home in Wilkes-Barre. Oliver’s girlfriend, Vanessa Batista, survived multiple gunshot wounds.

• March 16: Eric Scott Montanari, 18, of Weston, was charged with criminal homicide after allegedly stabbing his grandmother, Sandra Lee Montanari, 66, inside her Black Creek Township residence.

• March 21: James Andrew Cater, 30, of Hanover Township, was charged with criminal homicide in the fatal stabbing of Joseph Lewis, 18, inside an apartment in the Marion Terrace complex in Hanover.

• May 2: Anthony Dion Shaw, 42, of East Orange, New Jersey, was charged with criminal homicide in the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend, Cindy Lou Ashton, 39, inside her Wilkes-Barre Township residence. Shaw has not been arraigned.

• June 18: Barndon Joseph Gambardella, 18, of West Hazleton, was charged with criminal homicide in the fatal shooting of Anthony Bonney, 17, during a botched drug buy in Freeland.

The Sherman Hills apartment complex in Wilkes-Barre was the scene of a fatal shooting Wednesday night. Devon Clive Stevens, 32, died from multiple gunshot wounds, the coroner’s office ruled Friday. No arrests have been made in the case.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_TTL070618ShermanHills1.cmyk-1-.jpg.optimal.jpgThe Sherman Hills apartment complex in Wilkes-Barre was the scene of a fatal shooting Wednesday night. Devon Clive Stevens, 32, died from multiple gunshot wounds, the coroner’s office ruled Friday. No arrests have been made in the case.

By Ed Lewis

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