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Authorities said Jesse Long, of Pittston, fatally shot a woman in a vehicle chase after the victim and her boyfriend, upset they were shorted in a heroin deal, pursued the shooter and another man Sunday night on state Route 92 in Wyoming County.
Long, 28, a passenger in the fleeing car, fired several shots from a handgun and one of them went through the windshield of a U-Haul van in pursuit, striking Micole Gumpper, 23, in the front of the head, state police said. Gumpper died from the gunshot wound after being flown by helicopter to Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton from Tyler Memorial Hospital in Tunkhannock Township, state police said.
Long and David Bohner, 24, of Tunkhannock, the driver of a 2013 Hyundai Sonata, face criminal homicide and other charges, state police said. The two men are held without bail at the Wyoming County Correctional Facility.
The driver of the van, Dominic Pease, no age or residence available, was not charged.
Wyoming County District Attorney Jeff Mitchell said Gumpper and Pease went to the River Crest housing development along state Route 92 in Tunkhannock Township to purchase heroin. Mitchell said that there was “some sort of disagreement over the amount” and a chase ensued.
State police said Gumpper and Pease believed that the drug deal “was misrepresented and shorted.” Around 9:50 p.m. the pair in the van chased the car south on state Route 92 into Falls Township where Gumpper, riding in the passenger seat, was shot when one of the rounds fired by Long penetrated the windshield, state police said.
The state police Troop P major case team, the Tunkhannock Township police department and the Wyoming County District Attorneys Office are involved in the ongoing investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact state police in Tunkhannock at 570 836-2141.