Williamsport man allegedly threatened to “kill everyone in the house”

During a disturbance in his home at 1254 Park Ave. about 8:40 p.m. on Dec. 19, Dewayne Harris began throwing things around the house, assaulted his wife by striking her in the face and leg with his hand and then grabbed a rifle and told family members he “would kill everyone in the house,” it was alleged in a city police affidavit. Out of fear for her safety, the wife had hid the “loaded magazine to the rifle” a week ago, police said. Harris, 45, was arraigned before District Judge Gary Whiteman on charges of terroristic threats, possession of an instrument of crime and simple assault. Initially jailed in the county prison, Harris, who waived his preliminary hearing last week, is now free on $25,000 bail.

Picture Rocks man facing four sets of charges

In one week’s time, Ryan Charles Kutscher, 35, who has admitted to law enforcement that he battles with alcoholism, appeared before three district judges to face charges in four different cases, according to court records. On Friday morning, Kutscher, of 153 Water St.. Picture Rocks, was arraigned before District Judge Gary Whiteman on a Montoursville police felony charge of shoplifting for stealing $431 worth of merchandise from the Weis Market on N. Loyalsock Avenue in Montoursville on Jan. 2. He was released on $5,000 bail.

Several hours after appearing before Whiteman, Kutscher walked out of the Sheetz store at 330 Westminster Drive in Loyalsock Township with four 19-ounce cans of an alcoholic beverage allegedly without paying for them, according to court records. Troopers later tracked him down at his home, where he told them “I got a drinking problem man. I don’t know if I stole the cans. I’ve been blackout drunk. I’m being honest with you,” it was stated in an affidavit.

Kutscher was taken before District Judge William Solomon and arraigned on another count of felony shoplifting. He already has three shoplifting convictions, investigators stated. It turned out that Kutscher was also a fugitive from justice out of Florida. Details in that case were not available. Following his arraignment before Solomon, he was locked up in the county prison in lieu of $15,000 bail for the shoplifting case and another $25,000 bail for the Florida case.

On Jan. 3, Kutscher appeared before District Judge Kirsten Gardner for a preliminary hearing on state police charges of DUI and three summary violations. The charges stem from him driving a 2008 Mazda 8 on Route 220 in Muncy Township about 11 a.m. on Nov. 22 while allegedly impaired, according to another affidavit. The trooper first detected alcohol in Kutscher’s car and then on the driver himself after Kutscher got out of his vehicle, police said.

Although he refused to submit a blood sample, he admitted to the troopers that he had been drinking and that he had “an alcohol-addiction problem,” the court document stated. Following the hearing, Gardner ruled there was sufficient evidence to hold Kutscher on the charges. He was released on $2,500 bail.

Montoursville man allegedly exposed himself to ride-share driver

Corey Oliver, 32, of 227 Church Alley, Montoursville, has been charged with indecent exposure and open lewdness after he exposed himself to a female ride-share driver while she was taking him home about 8:45 p.m. on Sept. 6, borough police alleged in an affidavit. The driver, who was “very upset” by the ordeal, said she picked up Oliver on Old Cement Road outside the borough, police said. When he was questioned about the incident, Oliver admitted to getting a ride home from the ride-share company, but denied exposing himself to the driver, police said. Following his arraignment last week before Whiteman, Oliver was released on $5,000 bail.

However, when borough police brought him before Whiteman on Tuesday to be arraigned on a second set of charges, Oliver was incarcerated in lieu of $5,000 bail. In this case, Oliver was charged with stalking and prowling following an incident about 7:50 p.m. on Jan. 9 when he allegedly followed a woman along Broad Street, police said. The woman bolted into a business, where she got help, police said, adding that the victim was left “emotionally distressed” by the experience.

Third person arrested in felony firearm case

Jeremiah Lynn Styers, 38, of 1118 Isabella St., has been charged by the county’s Narcotics Enforcement Unit with illegal use of a firearm due to an arrest record and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number following an incident at a city home in the 800 block of Park Avenue on Oct. 9 where detectives executed a search warrant. Police seized drugs and a stolen handgun that Styers admitted that he sold to John Kyle Smith in exchange for 3.5 grams of methamphetamine in August, it was alleged in an affidavit. Styers is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a conviction in juvenile court of aggravated assault when he was 17, the court document stated. Styers was arraigned before District Judge Aaron Biichle and initially jailed, Styers has since been released on $25,000 bail. Smith, 29, and Cassandra Jane Hughes, 36, both of 816 Park Ave., have already been arrested on felony firearm charges and are free on $30,000 bail each.

Illegal immigrant arrested on city police felony charges

Constanza Baltra Moreno, a 32-year-old illegal immigrant from Chile who is part of an organized crime ring, has been jailed on felony charges of attempted theft by deception, receiving stolen property and access device fraud after she attempted to purchase $3,000 worth of merchandise with stolen credit cards back on Oct. 1, 2019, city police alleged in an affidavit. Police said Baltra Moreno, who had no known address, stole a woman’s purse from Basin Street business and then tried to use two of the woman’s credit cards to buy items at the former Best Buy in Muncy Township, but she was “ultimately denied,” the court document stated. Baltra Moreno waived her preliminary hearing on the charges last week before Biichle and remains incarcerated in lieu of $15,000 bail in the Lancaster County Prison, where she is being jailed on other criminal matters.

Two charged in separate drug cases

After Derrick Ponds sold cocaine on three occasions from or near his city home on Second Avenue between July 24 and Jan. 2, investigators with the county’s Narcotics Enforcement Unit raided his home with a search warrant on Jan. 3 and seized a small amount of cocaine, an estimated $2,000 in suspected drug money and a handgun that was discovered in a dresser drawer in his bedroom, it was alleged in an affidavit. Ponds, 36, of 609 Second Ave., was arraigned hours later before District Judge Christian Frey on three felony counts each of delivery of controlled substance and illegal use of cellphone plus one felony count of illegal possession of a firearm. Initially jailed, he has since been released on $75,000 bail.

In another NEU case, William Bruce Davenport, 65, of 1352 E. Cottage Ave., has been charged with possession of a controlled substance after cocaine was found in his Lycoming Township home while a county probation officer was conducting a surprise visit there on the afternoon of Jan. 3, according to an affidavit. Automatically jailed on a probation violation, Davenport has since been arraigned before District Judge William Solomon and recommitted in lieu of $15,000 bail.