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Their view: #metoo just another way for women to jump on sympathy bandwagon

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Vehicle owner reports acid-like liquid thrown on his car, damaging it

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; After about two hours of deliberation, a jury found Scott Sargent guilty Friday of all but two of the 24 charges he was facing.</p><p>Police say Sargent, 33, of Shenandoah, opened fire on police in the parking lot of the Walmart in Wilkes-Barre Township on Oct. 17, 2015.</p><p>He was found guilty on all five counts of attempted murder of a police officer, along with seven charges of aggravated assault, nine counts of reckless endangerment and one count of harassment.</p><p>He was found not guilty of one count each of aggravated assault and endangerment.</p><p>Sargent had nothing to say to reporters as he was led out of the Luzerne County Courthouse, sporting a slight smirk on his face.</p><p>Prosecutor Jarrett Ferentino said Sargent is likely to face between 60 to 120 years in prison.</p><p>Defense attorney Melissa Sulima opened proceedings Friday morning with an impassioned closing argument.</p><p>She asked the jury to think if it had been proved by the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt that Sargent was guilty of attempting to murder police officers.</p><p>&#8220;You know that answer is no,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Scott is not guilty on those charges.&#8221;</p><p>Sulima attempted to poke holes in the prosecution&#8217;s case. She said no shots were heard during the 911 call placed by Walmart assistant manager Ed Vasquez and only one officer testified to hearing Sargent shout &#8220;F&#8212;- you, pigs&#8221; while firing on police.</p><p>She went on to suggest that Sargent was using the gunfire to protect his girlfriend. In his testimony Thursday, Sargent said he did not see any officers, instead claiming he was only firing warning shots because he believed two people were following him and his girlfriend.</p><p>Sulima acknowledged Sargent&#8217;s actions were reckless and irrational, but he was not actually attempting to harm anyone.</p><p>&#8220;Scott felt justified using his firearm to protect others,&#8221; Sulima said.</p><p>Sulima also asked the jury to consider, if Sargent truly intended to kill anyone, why he did not shoot anyone, most notably Wilkes-Barre City Police Officer Alan Gribble. Sargent came face to face with Gribble before the officer shot him with a shotgun.</p><p>&#8220;If that doesn&#8217;t say he didn&#8217;t have that intent, I&#8217;m not sure what does,&#8221; she said.</p><p><strong>&#8216;Lucky Shot Scott&#8217;</strong></p><p>In his booming closing argument, Ferentino said just because Sargent did not manage to shoot anyone, it doesn&#8217;t mean he did not want to.</p><p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t get points for missing,&#8221; Ferentino said.</p><p>Ferentino asked the jury to remember Wilkes-Barre Township Police Officer Brian Bouton&#8217;s testimony, saying Sargent lined up a shot with Bouton&#8217;s head in the crosshairs of the scope mounted on his assault rifle. The bullet pierced the windshield of the vehicle Bouton was driving and the driver&#8217;s headrest. Bouton saved his own life by quickly ducking out of the way.</p><p>&#8220;He damn near blows Officer Bouton&#8217;s head off,&#8221; Ferentino said. &#8220;If that ain&#8217;t intent to commit murder, ladies and gentlemen, I don&#8217;t know what is. But the defense would have you believe that&#8217;s just a lucky shot from Scott Sargent.&#8221;</p><p>Ferentino began chiding Sargent, calling him &#8220;Lucky Shot Scott,&#8221; acknowledging that Sargent&#8217;s only real luck was that he didn&#8217;t actually harm anyone that day.</p><p>The prosecutor attacked much of Sargent&#8217;s testimony, including his statements that police began firing at him first, despite ballistic evidence he said proved Sargent was the one who fired first.</p><p>Ferentino also went after the defense for trying to suggest Sargent was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time.</p><p>&#8220;Even if you believe he was intoxicated, that can&#8217;t justify what he did,&#8221; he told jurors. &#8220;That&#8217;s not a defense, folks.&#8221;</p><p>Ferentino asked jurors to carefully consider the testimony of Sargent and the officers involved.</p><p>&#8220;You can either trust the testimony of someone who has everything to lose today, or from people who had everything to lose that day,&#8221; Ferentino pointed out.</p><p><strong>&#8216;Never sees the outside&#8217;</strong></p><p>The jury began deliberating at around 1:30 p.m, returning after about two hours and only one question for clarification regarding the exact definition of attempted murder.</p><p>The jury found Sargent not guilty on two lesser charges &#8212; the aggravated assault of Walmart&#8217;s Vasquez and the reckless endangerment of Alonzo Randall, a man whose vehicle was dented by a round fired from Sargent&#8217;s weapon.</p><p>After the verdict, defense attorney Joseph Yeager suggested the verdict could be partially owed to the defense&#8217;s inability to bring up Sargent&#8217;s mental issues or drug and alcohol use. He did say the defense respected the decision of the jury.</p><p>&#8220;We understood that this was a difficult case from day one,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Sargent still has the potential to face a 25th charge in relation to the shooting. He was charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, as he is a convicted felon. This charge was severed for a later date after the defense suggested it had the potential to unfairly prejudice their client.</p><p>Ferentino said prosecutors may still pursue that charge.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to do whatever we have to do to make sure Scott Sargent never sees the outside of a jail cell,&#8221; Ferentino said.</p><p>Luzerne County Judge David Lupas set Sargent&#8217;s sentencing for Dec. 14. Sargent was returned to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Scott Sargent is led out of Luzerne County Court after he was found guilty of trying to kill five police officers and other counts Friday. He is facing at least 60 years in prison for the incident outside the Walmart in Wilkes-Barre Township, according to prosecutors. Sargent is shown walking with one of his defense attorneys, Melissa Sulima. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL102117Scott-Sargent1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Scott Sargent is led out of Luzerne County Court after he was found guilty of trying to kill five police officers and other counts Friday. He is facing at least 60 years in prison for the incident outside the Walmart in Wilkes-Barre Township, according to prosecutors. Sargent is shown walking with one of his defense attorneys, Melissa Sulima. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL102117Scott-Sargent3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County prosecutor Jarrett Ferentino speaks to the media after Scott Sargent was found guilty of nearly two dozen counts by a jury Friday. Sargent, 33, Shenandoah, fired at police officers outside the Walmart in Wilkes-Barre Township. In the background at far right is Wilkes-Barre City Officer Alan Gribble, who shot Sargent in the abdomen. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL102117Scott-Sargent3-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Luzerne County prosecutor Jarrett Ferentino speaks to the media after Scott Sargent was found guilty of nearly two dozen counts by a jury Friday. Sargent, 33, Shenandoah, fired at police officers outside the Walmart in Wilkes-Barre Township. In the background at far right is Wilkes-Barre City Officer Alan Gribble, who shot Sargent in the abdomen. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL102117Scott-Sargent2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Scott Sargent is led out of Luzerne County Court with his attorney, Melissa Sulima, after being found guilty Friday of firing at officers outside the Walmart in Wilkes-Barre Township in October 2015. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL102117Scott-Sargent2-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Scott Sargent is led out of Luzerne County Court with his attorney, Melissa Sulima, after being found guilty Friday of firing at officers outside the Walmart in Wilkes-Barre Township in October 2015. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></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>

Walmart shooter found guilty of most charges; facing decades in prison