Jury selection to begin in Walmart shooting case

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TIMES-SHAMROCK FILE Scott Sargent, 33, of Shenandoah, is facing attempted murder charges alleging he tried to gun down police during a shooting spree outside the Walmart in the Wilkes-Barre Twp. Marketplace in October 2015.

WILKES-BARRE — The attempted murder trial against Scott Sargent is expected to get under way with jury selection this morning — two years to the day after his alleged shooting spree in Wilkes-Barre Twp.

Sargent, 33, of Shenandoah, is accused of opening fire outside the Walmart store at Wilkes-Barre Twp. Marketplace on Oct. 17, 2015.

Prosecutors say that after opening fire outside the Walmart, Sargent got into a firefight with police, with one shot piercing a police SUV’s windshield and narrowly missing a Wilkes-Barre Twp. officer’s head. Wilkes-Barre city officer Alan Gribble ended the fight with a shotgun blast to Sargent’s abdomen.

During a brief pre-trial hearing Monday afternoon, prosecutors did not oppose a defense motion for Sargent to be tried separately on a count of possessing a firearm as a felon. Assistant District Attorney Jarrett Ferentino agreed introducing Sargent’s “extensive prior record” during this trial would be prejudicial to him, and Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas ordered the count severed.

Defense attorney Melissa Sulima also sought assurance that prosecutors would not call uniformed police officers to the stand, saying such a move would have the “appearance of impropriety” and could unduly influence jurors. Ferentino said he asks officers to appear in court wearing business suits, but those on duty sometimes appear in uniform.

Lupas said he would address that issue if it arises during trial.

The evidence against Sargent is substantial — prosecutors say they have lined up at least 20 eyewitnesses in addition to the officers involved in the shooting.

Sargent previously tried to be declared incompetent to stand trial, with Kingston psychiatrist Dr. Richard Fischbein testifying that he appears to suffer from schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Described as a methamphetamine and bath salt user, Sargent had grown paranoid before the shooting, thinking people were following him, he said.

But Philadelphia psychiatrist Dr. John S. O’Brien II countered that Sargent’s problem was not schizophrenia — the drugs were to blame for ramping up his paranoia.

Lupas sided with the prosecution and found Sargent competent to stand trial.

Earlier this month, the judge also denied Sargent’s bid to get a new attorney after the defendant alleged attorney Joseph Yeager has been withholding discovery evidence from him.

Lupas noted other attorneys from the Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office are assisting Yeager, and said the group can continue.

Sargent continues to be held without bail at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.

Contact the writer:

jhalpin@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2058

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