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AG: Scam artist bilked elderly woman out of life’s savings

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JFK would have turned 100 on Memorial Day

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Kyle Shaw was self-medicating with drugs and alcohol when he set fire to a city home where he found his close friend dead of an apparent suicide, his attorney said at Shaw&#8217;s sentencing Tuesday.</p><p>Shaw, 24, was sentenced to one to two years in prison for setting fire to the Prospect Street home he apparently shared with 31-year-old Jack Sipple, who was discovered in an upstairs bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head. Shaw pleaded guilty to arson in February.</p><p>No one has been charged with Sipple&#8217;s death, and the manner remained undetermined Tuesday pending the receipt of reports from Wilkes-Barre police, said Luzerne County Coroner Bill Lisman. City police did not immediately return a message seeking comment.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry,&#8221; Shaw said in a brief apology. His attorney, county public defender Melissa Sulima, described at length details about Shaw&#8217;s mental state revealed in his pre-sentence report. She noted Shaw relied heavily on drugs and alcohol to combat a bipolar disorder that was never properly treated.</p><p>Shaw, she said, was drinking and on Xanax when he came upon the body of a man &#8220;he considered his brother deceased of an apparent suicide&#8221; on Aug. 7. Not thinking straight and struck with the sight of his friend&#8217;s motionless body on a bed, Shaw lit the bed on fire, she said.</p><p>&#8220;He takes full responsibility for his actions &#8230; and I think you see before you a young man who has struggled with mental health issues when I&#8217;m not sure if he was even cognizant of them,&#8221; said Sulima. She asked Luzerne County Judge Joseph Sklarosky Jr. to consider a sentence that would allow Shaw to seek parole and continue treatment.</p><p>It wasn&#8217;t until Shaw was jailed on the charges in August when his problem became clear to him, Sulima said. Now for the first time in his life, he&#8217;s ready to get help and lead a productive life, she added.</p><p>Shaw could be released from prison later this year. Sklarosky allowed Shaw to apply for probation after completing the minimum sentence, which should occur around August after about 10 months time served. He must serve five years probation after his release.</p><p>Shaw was ordered to pay nearly $100,000 in restitution, including $92,400 to Allstate and $1,000 to Sipple&#8217;s wife.</p><p>Police say Shaw fled the scene of the fire in a red minivan and drove to his ex-girlfriend&#8217;s Wilkes-Barre Township home where he struck her vehicle with the van before entering her home and claiming Sipple had killed himself. Shaw smashed into her car once more as he drove away.</p><p>After he was arrested by Rice Township police, Shaw told investigators he found Sipple dead in the bedroom, but couldn&#8217;t remember any other details.</p><p><ins>For other local crime stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/crime" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Shaw </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_SHAW-2c-KYLE-cmyk-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Shaw </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Man sentenced for burning down Wilkes-Barre home; friend was found dead