`the Innocents' Are Guilty Of Chilling Production

After 20 Years, Search For Justice Continues

Monday, February 12, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 2A 





WILKES-BARRE -- After wishing a 62-year-old Connecticut woman "good
morning" in a downtown parking garage, a "friendly" robber ripped a purse from
her arm and made off with $250, police said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Margaret Bevan, of Newtown, Conn., said she and her husband were walking
from their car in the Park N' Lock on North Main Street on Sunday about 10:30
a.m. when a man approached them and greeted them, police said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Police said the woman described the assailant as a light-skinned black
male, 6 feet, 180 pounds, wearing an orange baseball cap, a blue coat and blue
jeans. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The woman told police the man struggled with her, ripped the purse from her
shoulder, and pushed her against a concrete wall and to the ground. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The woman sustained minor injuries to her knee and cheek. Police said the
woman declined medical treatment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A witness chased the man as he fled north on North Main Street, and east
onto East Union. The suspect dropped the purse, but Bevan said the money was
missing from it when it was returned to her. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Man with gun arrested &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ASHLEY -- Police said they arrested a Sugarloaf man as he was walking
outside a trailer park home with a modified shotgun. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As of press time, police had not released the man's name, but said they
were investigating whether he threatened a park resident with the gun. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 When police arrived at Cooney Mobile Home Park on North Main Street in
Ashley, the man entered a car and led five police agencies on a short chase.
The pursuit ended at Hazleton Hill Street, Ashley police Sgt. David Cerski
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Inside the car was a handgun, for which the man showed a permit. He also
had a shotgun, with a sawed-off handle, police said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police had asked the man to undergo a blood-alcohol test. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Woman Assaulted, Robbed