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First Posted: 3/5/2013

WILKES-BARRE — A Wilkes-Barre man was arrested and charged after trying to bring brass knuckles into the Luzerne County Courthouse, the county Sheriff’s Office said.

Courthouse Security Officer James Lavin informed Deputy Sheriff Brian Szumski that a man carrying brass knuckles had entered the rear entrance of the courthouse at about 8:27 a.m. Tuesday.

Szumski asked the man, identified as Rony Alona Brea, 20, of North Main Street, if he brought the brass knuckles into the courthouse, and Brea responded that he did, according to court papers. He was informed that it is illegal to possess brass knuckles, and authorities placed him into custody.

Szumski then learned Brea had an outstanding bench warrant for his arrest in Luzerne County for failure to appear on a charge of theft by unlawful taking.

Brea was arraigned before District Judge Martin Kane on a charge of possession of a prohibited offensive weapon and jailed at the county prison for lack of $20,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for 10 a.m. March 14.

SCRANTON — Stanley Backus, 33, of Wilkes-Barre, has been charged with possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced on Thursday.

Backus previously was convicted of four felonies and was wanted by Philadelphia County for a probation violation and a Meghan’s Law registry violation, according to U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith. The offenses included in the criminal information filed Wednesday allegedly occurred in July 2011 in Wilkes-Barre.

This case was the result of a joint investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Wilkes-Barre and Kingston police departments. Prosecution is assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy C. Phillips.

In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 10 years imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.

HANOVER TWP. — Township police reported the following:

• Sarah Potsko, of Diamond Avenue in the Korn Krest section of the township, reported an attempted burglary at her residence on Tuesday. The screen was pulled off a window frame and an apartment doorknob was knocked out of alignment.

• Andrew Kondratick, of Kingston, reported entry into a vacant home on Division Street in the Lee Park section of the township on Wednesday. Entry, which occurred sometime between Feb. 25 and Wednesday, was made by breaking a cellar window and then breaking the chain lock on the basement door leading to the first floor. It appeared nothing was missing from the home.

• James DeMichele, of Dallas, reported property damage to his home on Dexter Street on Tuesday. He reported water from the baseboard heater leaked onto the floors, causing damage to drop ceilings. He believes someone entered the house and caused the water damage.

• Alexander Dobson, of Lyndwood Avenue, reported on Wednesday that he left his apartment while two people he knew were there and, when he returned, he found that $40 in cash, a television and his medication were missing.

• Kermit Olivier reported to police on Tuesday that his stepson, Dominic Bosworth, 19, pushed him to the ground during a domestic dispute at 32 Dundee Apartments. Bosworth was cited with harassment.

WILKES-BARRE — The Wilkes-Barre office of the state police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement reported that citations were issued to the following establishments alleging violation of the state liquor and crimes codes by possessing or operating gambling devices or paraphernalia or permitting gambling or lotteries, pool selling and/or bookmaking on the premises:

• Melynda A. Reese — Rob’s Pub, 232-234 Nesbitt St., Larksville, on July 4, 2012.

• Loyal Order of Moose Pittston Lodge 1207, 425 Exeter Ave., West Pittston, on Sept. 12, 2012.

• Uncle Buck’s Gardner’s BBQ Pit LLC, operating as Uncle Buck’s, 361 W. Main St., Plymouth, on Oct. 3, 2012.

• Frank Fratamico — The Casanova, 901-903 S. Webster Ave., Scranton, on Oct. 3, 2012.

PLYMOUTH — Police are investigating a report of a male in a vehicle following a young woman after she declined a ride with him.

An 18-year-old woman was walking in the area of West Main and Powell streets on Tuesday when a male driving a black SUV with tinted windows pulled into the Convenient Mart at West Main and Academy streets and asked the woman for a cigarette and a light, police said.

The man asked the female several questions and then asked if she needed a ride home. When she declined, the man followed her for some distance and fled when the woman’s mother called her name.

The man is described as black, about 6 feet, 1 inch tall, with short black hair and being neatly dressed. Anyone with information is asked to call Plymouth police at 779-2147 or call 911.

WILKES-BARRE — City police reported the following:

• Mark S. Benjamin reported on Tuesday that he received a MasterCard statement in the mail on Jan. 31 informing him that he received cash benefits from the state of Pennsylvania. Benjamin said he never applied for the benefits and called the MasterCard fraud department. He was informed that someone applied for state benefits in his name in November.

Benjamin also learned that someone applied for unemployment benefits in his name.

• Police responded to the area of South Main and Academy streets at about 5:45 p.m. on Feb. 27 for a report of a woman in a red jacket who appeared to be under the influence of something. They encountered Lori Dopko allegedly staggering in the middle of South Main Street with her pants falling to her knees and unable to answer questions such as “What is your name?” police said.

Dopko was cited with public drunkenness.