Laundromat vandals identified, wanted in other cases, authorities say

BLOOMSBURG — A man and a woman caught on surveillance video entering a laundromat with two children to rob coin boxes have been identified as suspects in other crimes, authorities say.

In each case, police say the  adults brought the woman’s two children along as their “lookouts” while they committed the crimes.

Robert A. Johnson Jr., 33, of Bloomsburg and Amber Hornberger, 34, of Catawissa will be charged for thefts earlier this week at Wash-N-Shop in the Market Street Plaza, town police said.

Photos of bank robber released

By SUSAN SCHWARTZ
Press Enterprise Writer
BERWICK — Police have released two surveillance photos of the robber who stole a large amount of cash from the Fulton Bank here.

The images show a man dressed all in black, wearing gloves and covering his face with sunglasses and black cloth — possibly a ski mask.

In one picture, he is holding a piece of paper as he approaches the bank’s door.

Officers said he was about 6 feet tall and weighed about 220 to 240 pounds.

Couple brings kids to vandalism spree, video shows

BLOOMSBURG — A man and woman, with two small children in tow, broke into coin boxes on washing machines at a laundromat here Tuesday night and then fled, after stealing cash and causing damage estimated at $2,000, its owner said.

The whole incident was captured on surveillance video, said owner Randy Howell, who has operated Wash-N-Shop in the Market Street Shopping Plaza for about a dozen years.

Police respond to report of Berwick bank robbery

BERWICK — A man came into Fulton Bank dressed all in black with his face covered and demanded cash from the tellers in a note that said he had a bomb Tuesday afternoon, police say.

The man got a large amount of money and then fled the South Poplar Street bank around 3 p.m., headed south, they say. No one was injured in the robbery, Police Chief Ken Strish said, and no one actually saw any bomb.

Police soon swarmed the area, checking on pedestrians and watching cars leaving the area.

Robots to roll into area grocery stores

CARLISLE – At Giant Food Stores, the future apparently has googly eyes.

On Monday, the grocery chain with stores in Berwick, Bloomsburg and Danville announced that it plans put a new tall gray robot in every store that will move around on its own looking for hazards like liquid, powder and bulk-food spills and reporting them so they can be cleaned up.

Giant tested out its robot, called “Marty” and festooned with googly eyes, in a store in Harrisburg and one in Carlisle, and it got a warm welcome there, said spokeswoman Ashley Flower.

High-speed chase ends at gunpoint, charges say

BERWICK — A rural Shickshinny man led police on a high-speed chase in a stolen car here early Friday, before losing control and crashing into a tree at Seventh Avenue and Dickson Street, arrest papers say.

Jeffery T. Havrilla, 27, and passenger Michael Fulton, 35, of Berwick, were then held at gunpoint by Officer Jeremy Mulders until help arrived to arrest them around 1:30 a.m.

The chase began around 1:20 a.m. when Havrilla, driving a 2018 Honda Civic, spotted Mulders’ patrol car as the Civic started down 1500 block of Market Street, near Scicchitano’s, court papers say.

SUV towed after wreck in Berwick

BERWICK — No one was badly injured after a van pulled into the path of a Mazda SUV on Orange Street around 9:30 a.m. Friday morning, police say.

Amy Meade, 25, of Millville was headed south on Orange Street toward Front Street in a Mazda CX-9 when Oscar Augustine, 73, of Berwick  pulled his Dodge van from Eaton Street into her path.

The Mazda's front driver side smashed into the rear bumper of the van, heavily damaging the SUV, which came to rest in the intersection.

Meade's SUV had to be towed away by Welsh's Towing.

Council Cup Overlook permanently closed

HOLLENBACK TWP. — The Council Cup Overlook, which once made PennLive’s list of Readers’ Best Views in the state, has been permanently closed due to ongoing vandalism and safety concerns, a spokeswoman says.

Vandals sprayed rocks there with grafitti, said Taryne Williams, spokeswoman for Talen Energy, which owns the property. They littered it with trash. They stole signs.

But most seriously, they repeatedly stole the fencing protecting sightseers and hikers from plunging over the cliffs that make the spot so scenic.

Danville schools seek vandal who caused bomb threat evacuation

DANVILLE — Nearly 600 high school students were evacuated Wednesday morning after a staff member discovered bomb and safety threats scrawled on a wall in the bathroom, officials say.

Danville Superintendent Jason Bendle was alerted to the threats just after 8 a.m. and by 8:14, the students were being evacuated to a safe location, which Bendle would not disclose.

Pages