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WILKES-BARRE — County prosecutors on Tuesday remained steadfast in their refusal to unseal documents related to a guarded city homicide investigation until the suspect’s day in court.
Tevon Kashaine Thomas, 24, of Wilkes-Barre, was arrested Oct. 5 outside the Luzerne County Courthouse ahead of a scheduled appearance to lift a bench warrant on theft charges. Thomas’ arrest papers were placed under seal following a court order issued the same day.
Details of the mid-afternoon arrest remained scarce for days, but documents filed Oct. 17 by Thomas’ attorney confirmed authorities believe Thomas to be a suspect in the fatal North Sherman Street shooting of 23-year-old Irvando Crooks last month.
Crooks, of Brooklyn, New York, suffered multiple gunshots in the Sept. 2 shooting. His death was ruled a homicide.
Thomas’ attorney, Joseph G. Price, of Scranton, requested a continuance before a preliminary hearing on the charges Oct. 13, arguing he had not seen the arrest papers and couldn’t adequately defend the charges against Thomas without them.
Price later issued a motion requesting the documents be unsealed for his review prior to a preliminary hearing scheduled for Thursday.
“We don’t even know what the crimes charged against the defendant are, who has made statements against his interests,” Price said Tuesday. “We believe it would be very simple for the court to fashion an order to allow the defendant to appropriately prepare prior to the hearing.”
The court, prosecutors argue in a response filed Tuesday, has already determined the commonwealth showed good cause in its reasons for having the documents sealed. Prosecutors, who had said the documents were sealed to protect witnesses in the case, say they will turn over the paperwork the day of the hearing.
Judge Tina Polachek Gartley, who ordered the seal, will hear arguments on the matter Wednesday.