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Psychiatric evaluation sought for suspect in WB Township homicide

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Defendant told by judge to ‘grow up’

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A real estate owner of a three-unit apartment building on Blackman Street is disputing a reference in court records that his property is an &#8220;illegal boarding house&#8221;</p><p>James E. Payne Jr., of East Stroudsburg, said he has owned 312 Blackman St. for about one year and has plans to install new windows and do other renovations.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre police referenced the building as &#8220;an illegal boarding house with multiple residents&#8221; in arrest papers filed against Travis D. Clark Sr., 41, on Wednesday.</p><p>Clark, of 428 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre, was arrested on charges he stabbed Quientin Rone in the shoulder. Rone held Clark to the floor until officers arrived, arrest papers say.</p><p>A medium-size folding knife was allegedly found near Clark.</p><p>Payne said his building is up to code to include working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. He said he filed eviction notices against Rone and three other tenants in one unit in December.</p><p>&#8220;They were ordered by the (district) judge to get out by Feb. 4,&#8221; Payne said. &#8220;My building is not an illegal boarding house. I have leases with all my tenants and only those tenants on the leases are permitted to stay there.&#8221;</p><p>Court records indicate Payne filed an eviction notice Dec. 19 against Rone, Darrell Banks, Lekisha Spenn and Wayne White.</p><p>A hearing was held Jan. 2 and District Judge Richard Cronauer ruled in favor of Payne. The judge ordered the four tenants to pay a $2,322 judgment, which includes $2,000 in missed rent payments.</p><p>Payne said the four tenants moved in about two or three months ago.</p><p>He also noted he has contacted police about illegal narcotics he believes are being sold from his property.</p><p>&#8220;I called and even gave them my permission to go in and search and nothing gets done,&#8221; Payne said. &#8220;I&#8217;m not a slumlord. I have windows in storage waiting to be put in but I have to wait until Feb. 4 when they were told to get out.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ed Lewis</p><p>elewis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Owner of property where stabbing occurred disputes ‘illegal boarding house’ reference