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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The man who allegedly opened fire on police with a semi-automatic rifle outside Walmart went on trial Tuesday &#8212; exactly two years to the day he &#8220;decided to raise hell,&#8221; a prosecutor said.</p><p>A jury of eight women and four men, seated in the morning, will weigh 24 counts against Scott Sargent.</p><p>Sargent, 33, is facing four charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and six counts of assault of a law enforcement officer after police say he opened fire on them with an AR-15 equipped with a scope in the early afternoon of Oct. 17, 2015, at the Walmart in Wilkes-Barre Township.</p><p>Sargent was also charged with reckless endangerment and harassment.</p><p>In his opening statement, prosecutor Jarrett Ferentino described the scene as a beautiful fall day, situated near a variety of places that families would be enjoying that Saturday afternoon.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s where (Sargent) decided to raise hell,&#8221; Ferentino said.</p><p>Ferentino told the jury that witnesses called by the prosecution would speak about how Sargent tactically parked his car to use it for cover and how the type of gun he allegedly used would require him to pull the trigger for each bullet.</p><p>Ferentino said this would show that &#8212; with each pull of the trigger &#8212; Sargent was intending to kill.</p><p>Ferentino told the jury Sargent yelled &#8220;F&#8212;- you, pigs&#8221; as he fired on police. After he was shot by officers and subdued, Sargent cursed paramedics, spitting at them until a hood was placed over his head, according to the prosecutor.</p><p>Sargent&#8217;s defense attorney, Joseph Yeager, focused solely on the charges of attempted murder and assault leveled against his client in his opening statement.</p><p>Yeager acknowledges Sargent was at the Walmart with a weapon on the day of the incident. He even went so far as to tell jurors, &#8220;you should find him guilty&#8221; on the endangerment and harassment charges.</p><p>But Yeager believes the jury will find there&#8217;s not any evidence to show Sargent intended to kill anyone that day.</p><p>When Wilkes-Barre City Patrolman Alan Gribble got close enough to Sargent to shoot him in the abdomen and wound him, Sargent had the chance to kill someone, the defense attorney pointed out.</p><p>&#8220;If he really wanted to kill an officer, that would&#8217;ve been the time to do it,&#8221; argued Yeager.</p><p>Instead, Yeager said Sargent was in a delusional state due to a combination of drug use and mental health problems, and that he genuinely believed he was defending himself and those around him from the officers.</p><p><strong>&#8216;Hit the ground&#8217;</strong></p><p>After opening statements, the prosecution called its first two witnesses.</p><p>The first was Robin Goleski, the 911 dispatcher who took the initial call from a Walmart employee reporting an active shooter.</p><p>Goleski, who has worked as a dispatcher for 16 years, confirmed the accuracy of a transcript from a 911 call. That call was then played for the jury.</p><p>The caller, who identified himself as Ed Velasquez, was told by other employees that a man near Walmart&#8217;s auto center had fired at least three rounds. Velasquez relayed a description of the man and his weapon, before shouting to his co-workers to &#8220;hit the ground.&#8221;</p><p>Goleski stayed on the phone with Velasquez until police arrived.</p><p>During Yeager&#8217;s cross-examination, Goleski confirmed she did not hear any shots fired while speaking with Velasquez and he did not report that anyone had been shot at any point.</p><p>Velasquez, a Walmart assistant manager at the time, was the prosecution&#8217;s next witness. He recounted the story the jury had just heard through the tape, but explained to prosecutor Matthew Fitzpatrick that when police arrived on scene, that&#8217;s when bullets began to fly.</p><p>&#8220;Hell broke loose,&#8221; Velasquez said.</p><p>He also pointed out bullet holes on the bay doors of the auto center.</p><p>In her cross-examination of Velasquez, defense attorney Melissa Sulima asked if he heard any of the initial shots before police arrived. Velasquez confirmed he did not hear the initial shots, but they were reported to him by employees.</p><p>The trial is set to continue Wednesday morning.</p><p>Sargent was returned to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Sargent </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_web1_sargent-color-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Sargent </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Prosecutor: Walmart shooter ‘decided to raise hell’