Young People Need A Proper `hangout' To While The Time Away, Not The Tv

Activist Hopes To Transform South W-b 
New Group Arises From A Defunct City Effort That Lost Its Federal Funding.
Meeting Planned For March 9.

Friday, February 16, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 4A 





The police chief's silence is unacceptable. ONE OF OUR shotguns is missing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Those are not the kind of words we'd hope to hear from the Wilkes-Barre
Police Department. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Once said, however - and proven to be accurate - we expect city police
would say a whole lot more to the citizens who are rightfully anxious about
deadly weaponry possibly falling into the wrong hands. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That has not happened. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For more than a week, Times Leader reporters have asked Chief Anthony
George about the missing shotgun, the department's policy covering the
inventory of weapons, and the possible link between the missing 12-gauge
Mossberg and the homicides of three Vermont residents. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 George's response? ``You can ask me a hundred questions but I'm not going
to answer them while an investigation is going on.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 George, in fact, has not only refused to answer questions, he has chastised
the Police Benevolent Association president for speaking out on the matter. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Such silence, on an important issue of public safety, is unacceptable. The
citizens of Wilkes-Barre (you remember them, the folks who happen to pay
George's salary) deserve answers and reassurance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Donald Fell, 20, and Robert Joseph Lee, 21, both formerly of Wilkes-Barre,
are charged with federal counts of carjacking and kidnapping. They are accused
of fatally stabbing Fell's mother and boyfriend on Nov. 27 in Rutland, Vt.
They are also suspected of using a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun to carjack a
Vermont woman. They then beat her to death in upstate New York, according to
court records. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A source close to one of the defendants told the Times Leader last week she
believes the shotgun was stolen from Wilkes-Barre police and provided to Fell
and Lee. City police carry Mossberg shotguns, and, after we began questioning
federal authorities about the gun, city police on Friday confirmed one shotgun
is missing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As George's silence dragged into Wednesday, the newspaper has been unable
to get responses to numerous questions, including: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 1) Is the missing shotgun the one found in the possession of Fell and Lee? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 2) If it is the same gun, how was someone able to obtain it? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 3) If it is not the same gun, has the missing weapon been reported to
federal officials? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 4) When did police realize the weapon was missing? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 5) If police realized it was missing for more than a few weeks or months,
why did they tighten inventory policy only last week? For that matter, what
was the policy before it was changed? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 6) Have any other weapons been lost? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The questions are reasonable and deserving of answers. It is unreasonable,
however, to dismiss them all by hiding behind the claim of compromising an
ongoing investigation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 City police have already lost one shotgun. If George's silence continues,
the department will discover it has lost something even more important - the
public's trust. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

W-b Police Owe Public Answers About Shotgun