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Violence continues with shootings in Wilkes-Barre
A man was found with a gunshot wound in the area of 247 S. Welles St. on April 6.
The man’s name was not released. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
The victim is the seventh person to be shot in the city within five days. Two of those shootings turned fatal.
A man and a woman both in their mid to late 20s were found shot in a hallway at 292 Coal St., Interfaith Apartments, on April 4.
An autopsy is scheduled on the body of Peter Bielecki Jr., 49, who was found dead inside his residence at 70 Carey Ave. on April 3. Police Chief Robert Hughes said Bielecki’s death is “suspicious.”
Two men suffered gunshot wounds at which police say happened outside Club Envy, 650 S. Main St. April 3.
Jason Khaleen-Rowe, 25, of Bronx, New York, died April 2, 11 hours after he was shot as he sat in a vehicle on South Street near Meade Street on Wednesday, April 1. The manner of death has not been determined pending the police investigation, Coroner Bill Lisman said.
Police have charged Delroy Toomer, 25, of Scott Street, Wilkes-Barre, with aggravated assault, tampering with evidence and firearms not to be carried without a license in connection to the shooting of Khaleen-Rowe.
Checkers & Rally are looking for franchise owners in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton
National chain Checkers & Rally wants to expand into the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton markets.
Durham said the Tampa-based restaurant reached an agreement with distributor, Willow Run Foods Inc. in Binghamton, New York.
The move opened up Northeastern Pennsylvania for the 1950s style eatery. Willow Run Foods Inc. is part of a network of logistic companies servicing the restaurant’s 805 locations across the county.
Now franchise owners are being sought in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.
The Wilkes-Barre and Scranton markets are prime territory for the drive-in restaurant. The closest locations are in the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia regions.
Franchise candidate must meet financial and training requirements, for information go to checkersfranchising.com.
In the first year, a franchise could earn $1.4 million in top-line sales and $250,000 in bottom-line profit.
Durham said Checkers & Rally have their own real estate team who will determine prime property locations near the franchise owner’s hometown.
The retro themed drive-in employs between 20 to 30 people and features a covered outdoor dinning area.
Hazleton man accused of body slamming a pit bull
Hazleton man, Hakeem Kellerwalker, 31, of Seybert Street, is facing animal cruelty charges on allegations he body slammed a pit bull.
Kellerwalker is facing a first-degree count of cruelty to animals and a summary count of cruelty to animals. A humane officer with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Luzerne County filed the charges against Kellerwalker in October.
A woman took a male pit bull named Max to the Northeast Veterinary Referral Hospital on Sept. 7. An evaluation of the dog revealed the canine had swelling and bruising over its trunk and right pelvic limb. Surgery was performed that required a plate to be inserted on Max’s right femur bone.
Max recovered from the surgery and was placed in foster care.
An investigation revealed Max had been abused on Aug. 30 by Kellerwalker.
A witness told the humane officer that Kellerwalker picked up Max and body slammed the dog on a balcony at his residence.
Max’s owner, Sarah Pelszynski, 31, of Hazleton, was cited with a summary count of cruelty to animals for failing to seek medical treatment for her dog.
Pelszynski is scheduled for a summary trial before District Judge Joseph Zola in Hazleton on April 10.
Philadelphia teen injured in Nanticoke shooting
City police said Mark Brown-Mathis, 18 from the Philadelphia area, had been shot in the upper arm and transported to Geisinger Medical Center for treatment.
Brown-Mathis, who had been staying with a friend at Sherman Hills “gave several accounts of the shooting,” police said.
Officers originally responded to the report of two residents who found the victim walking west in the alley between Orchard and West Broad Street. The residents walked the victim to his apartment and called 911, despite the victim ordering them not to contact police.
Police said Brown-Mathis claimed he was walking to his friend’s house and was on Locust Street. He said a white Jeep Grand Cherokee pulled up to him and the right rear passenger shot him in the right arm.
The suspects are alleged to be a driver wearing a mask, the front passenger alleged to be a white male, the rear passenger alleged to be a black male.
The Nanticoke City Police Department requests that anyone with any information on the incident call 570-735-2200 or Luzerne County 911.