W-b Twp. 
Tax Reporting Problem And Solutions Discussed 
The Subject Of Taxes Was Discussed Monday Night At The Township Council's 
Regular Meeting At The Municipal Building.

30-point Performance Keys Nanticoke Win

By JOHN DECKER; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Monday, February 03, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





SUGARLOAF -- Two Pittston Township officers were nearly run over by a
tractor-trailer Sunday when a routine arrest turned into a brawl on
traffic-laden Interstate 81. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ten turbulent hours after David M. Hales was first picked up by police,
District Justice Burton Balliet of Sugarloaf had to arraign the man police
called a "lunatic" from a police cruiser because of safety concerns. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The series of violence started at 6 a.m., when Hales told township Sgt.
Leonard Trotta that three men had threatened him at the SkyLiner Truck Plaza
in Dupont. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As Trotta investigated, Hales became "uncooperative and violent," according
to the arrest affidavit, and threw a duffle bag at the officer. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The two struggled. Trotta then handcuffed Hales, who diner staff said was
loitering all night despite requests to leave. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Upon arrival at police headquarters, the 28-year-old North Carolina man
again became violent and kicked out the left rear window of the cruiser until
several officers restrained him, affidavits said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Before taking him to Sugarloaf for his arraignment, police handcuffed and
shackled Hales. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But the man with a shaved head and steel-tip boots would not be subdued. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Two arrest affidavits tell the following story: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 While en route to Magistrate Burton Balliet of Sugarloaf, Hales rammed the
side door of the marked police Jeep Cherokee with his leg. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Patrolman Michael Savokinas pulled to the side of the road. Hales rolled to
the back of the vehicle and smashed the rear window with a fire extinguisher. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As police tried to stop Hales from fleeing, Hales flashed a smile, then
threw the fire extinguisher at Trotta, striking him. Hales then dove from the
vehicle and ran into the southbound lanes of Interstate 81 about one mile
north of the Route 80 junction in Butler Township. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Trotta and Savokinas tackled Hales in the middle of the highway while
vehicles roared in a 65-mile-per-hour stretch of highway. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 When the two officers tried to restrain Hales, he struck both with his
hands, kicked them with his boots, and bit Savokinas on the hand. At this
point, the officers were nearly hit by a tractor-trailer, they later recalled. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's the hairiest incident I've been involved in in 12 years. Three people
could have been dead," Trotta testified later about himself, Savokinas and
Hales. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A motorist pulled to the side of the road when he noticed the fire
extinguisher fly through the window and the subsequent skirmish. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I thought the car was on fire and I stopped," said Eric Sokolowski, who
was travelling from Wilkes-Barre to Maryland. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sokolowski, who was about 20 yards away from the police vehicle, said the
prisoner was frantic and screaming, "They're going to kill me" and "I f-----
with the Italians and these are their henchmen." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sokolowski said officers Trotta and Savokinas clubbed Hales in the face,
bloodying him with their nightsticks. The affidavit goes further, saying
police used pepper mace, asp baton, physical force and the threat of deadly
force to take the defendant into custody. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police finally restrained Hales, but only with the help of two Madison
County, Va. sheriff's deputies who incidentally were driving along the
interstate when they saw the scuffle. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Butler Township Police and State Police at Hazleton arrived about 10 a.m.,
10 minutes after Hales escaped from the police vehicle, according to
Sokolowski. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Trotta, Savokinas and Hales were treated for surface injuries at Hazleton
General Hospital. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But the injuries did not quiet Hales. When taken to Hazleton State Police
Barracks for a second set of charges, Hales lost control, spitting at people
and smashing items, said State Trooper James Surmick. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He has two different personalities. Sometimes he's nice and then he
changes," Surmick said, offering an example. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hales asked for a cup of water, and when one was given to him he spat back
on the floor. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He's a lunatic," Surmick said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After his arraignment, Hales sat practically immobilized under heavy
constraints in the police cruiser. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 During a brief interview, he said he was travelling from Chicago to a
rehabilitation center in Staunton, Va., and stopped in Pittston Township. He
declined to comment further. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pittston Township and Hazleton State Police filed multiple counts of the
following charges: aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment,
escape, resisting arrest, criminal mischief, loitering and prowling at night. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hales was placed in Luzerne County Correctional facility in lieu of $50,000
bail. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Preliminary hearings are set for Thursday at 2 p.m. before District Justice
Diana Malast, Plains Township; and at 10 a.m. on Feb. 11 before Balliet. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

`lunatic' Takes Police On Wild Trip Ten-hour Battle Ensues Following Routine Arrest