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W-B officials: Meeting on men’s house went well, another planned

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Penn State Wilkes-Barre postpones Northeast Regional Science Olympiad to March 9

<p>ASHLEY &#8212; A drunken Hanover Township man took three swings at an Ashley police officer who was trying to break up a fist fight outside a troubled nightclub last month, striking the policeman once, according to charges filed.</p><p>Nathaniel Bern Bradford, 38, of Lyndwood Avenue, was arraigned Monday on charges he threw punches at police Sgt. Scott Davis, who was struck in the chest outside Bentley&#8217;s Nightclub on state Route 309 on Feb. 25.</p><p>Davis defended himself, striking Bradford in the face and knocking him out cold. Three other men involved in the donnybrook fled the scene.</p><p>The melee occurred less than two weeks after Coleen Burns, the venue&#8217;s manager and co-owner, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/692936/bentleys-cancels-shows-pledges-safety-after-alleged-shooting" target="_blank">pledged to improve safety at the nightclub</a> in the wake of <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/692531/ashley-police-investigating-shooting-at-bentleys" target="_blank">a reported shooting in the parking lot on Feb. 11.</a> A small amount of blood was found in the area, leading police to believe that at least one person was injured. Multiple shell casings were discovered after the shooting.</p><p>Burns said at the time the shooting took place two hours after Bentley&#8217;s closed its doors.</p><p>According to the criminal complaint filed against Bradford:</p><p>Davis was in a police cruiser patrolling Bentley&#8217;s parking lot at about 3:10 a.m. as customers were exiting the venue. Two people began arguing near the main exit. As Davis exited the cruiser, four men were engaged in a fist fight.</p><p>Davis attempted to separate two men fighting when one of them, identified as Bradford, allegedly threw three punches at the officer, missing twice and hitting Davis once in the chest.</p><p>Davis returned a punch, striking Bradford in the face knocking him backwards. Davis turned his attention to the three other men who ran away.</p><p>Bradford was semi-responsive while lying on the ground, and paramedics responded to the nightclub to evaluate him.</p><p>Police alleged Bradford later resisted arrest and kept asking what he was hit with, the complaint says.</p><p>Police said Bradford was heavily intoxicated at the time.</p><p>Bradford was arraigned in Luzerne County Central Court on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest, harassment and disorderly conduct. He was released on $7,500 unsecured bail.</p><p>In an unrelated case, Bradford was free on $2,500 unsecured bail on charges filed by Wilkes-Barre police alleging he fled the scene after a vehicle he was driving struck a house on Blackman Street on Aug. 13, according to police and court reports. Bradford later reported the vehicle was stolen.</p><p>Bradford is scheduled to appear in county court March 22 on three counts of reckless endangerment and one count each of accidents involving damage to property and reckless driving.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">A drunken Hanover Township man landed one of three punches directed at an Ashley police officer trying to break up a fist fight between four men outside a troubled nightclub last month, according to charges filed in the case. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_bentleys.jpg</photo0><caption0>A drunken Hanover Township man landed one of three punches directed at an Ashley police officer trying to break up a fist fight between four men outside a troubled nightclub last month, according to charges filed in the case. </caption0><photoCredit0>Courtesy Fox 56 </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ed Lewis</p><p>elewis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Man charged with punching police officer outside Bentley’s nightclub