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Healthy Living

<p>LAFLIN &#8212; Two children are dead and another injured after a house fire Wednesday night, and a Wilkes-Barre man is in custody in connection with unrelated crimes, authorities say.</p><p>Meanwhile, State Police are searching a Wilkes-Barre home as part of their investigation into the fire.</p><p>According to a police press release:</p><p>Shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday, Luzerne County 911 received a report of a blaze at 60 Oakwood Drive. State Police arrived and found three boys inside the residence.</p><p>Two &#8212; a 16-year-old and a 12-year-old &#8212; were pronounced dead at the scene by the Luzerne County Coroner&#8217;s Office. The third &#8212; an 8-year-old &#8212; was transported to a local hospital for treatment.</p><p>Luzerne County Deputy Coroner Dan Hughes identified the two boys as Devon Major, 12, and Erik Dupree, 16. The cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning due to a house fire. The manner is still pending an investigation, Hughes said.</p><p>Luzerne County property records show the Laflin property is owned by Susan M. Major.</p><p>On Thursday morning, police took a Wilkes-Barre man into custody who has a history with the home.</p><p>Preston Daquon Bonnett, 26, was arrested on charges that he had devices used for manufacturing counterfeit credit cards at the residence July 10.</p><p>According to an affidavit for that case, Bonnett was in the home after being invited by Tyla Griffin, who had been staying in Major&#8217;s basement since June 16. Major, who knew Bonnett, did not grant permission for him to stay.</p><p>Major told police she had enough of Griffin and Bonnett and began moving their belongings from the basement to the first floor, with the pair screaming at her and refusing to leave. Major told police she noticed Bonnett had a credit card machine and various credit cards in his belongings, along with his state ID card and blank credit cards.</p><p>A witness who was at the home at the time, Cyrus Solomon, said Griffin broke the front window of the home with her hand before fleeing the scene in July.</p><p>Both Bonnett and Griffin are facing charges in connection with the alleged counterfeiting operation, including felonies.</p><p>More recently, Bonnett was accused of vandalizing the home. On Oct. 14, he allegedly threw a beer bottle through a window. His citation for that case was filed less than a week ago. It orders him to pay $662, with $200 of it going to Major as restitution.</p><p>It is not immediately clear if Bonnett will be facing any charges in connection with the deadly fire.</p><p>State Police were investigating a home at 18 Hillside St., Wilkes-Barre. Trooper James Shubzda, a forensic crime scene expert for PSP Wyoming, confirmed the investigation was in connection to the fire in Laflin, but could not confirm what the connection was.</p><p><strong>Check back at timesleader.com for updates.</strong></p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_Bonnett-2c-Preston.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bonnett </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_Bonnett-2c-Preston.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bonnett </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Two children dead in Laflin blaze; man arrested for crimes at the home