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Police retrieved four stolen guns and returned six stolen vehicles to their owners following an investigation which resulted in the arrest of two city teens for the thefts.
Brandon Rocco, 18, of 97 Belmont St. and a 17-year-old Carbondale resident have been charged in the thefts.
According to the affidavit, it all began when police were dispatched to Rocco’s residence at 1 a.m. on Dec. 1 for a report that he was threatening to shoot his cousin with a loaded .38-caliber revolver. However, when they arrived on the scene, Rocco had already fled.
Officer Jeffrey Arthur initiated an investigation and discovered that the revolver was one of three guns which had been stolen from a parked vehicle owned by Ron Cosklo, who serves as chairman of the Fell Twp. Board of Supervisors.
Later that day, police tracked down Rocco at a residence on Terrace St. and took him into custody. He was transported to police headquarters, but said he would only speak to Officer Arthur because he knew him from occasionally seeing him and saying hello to him in town.
Rocco admitted to Arthur that he was “high” on Xanax, a prescription drug he said he “would kill for.” He stated that he stole the gun while riding around with the other teen in a Hyundai Sonata they had stolen the same day on the West Side of town.
Rocco also confessed to stealing two other vehicles with the 17-year-old in Tunkhannock, a Jeep and a 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier.
On Dec. 2, police interviewed the 17-year-old suspected accomplice at his residence. At first, he repeatedly denied having helped stolen any guns or vehicles. But after further questioning, the police report states, he admitted his role in the thefts.
He led officers to the basement of the residence, where two stolen rifles were hidden, and he turned them over. One of the rifles belonged to Cosklo and the other was stolen from a truck in Nicholson. He later turned over another stolen gun, a revolver owned by Cosklo.
The teen stated that he and Rocco had stolen three additional vehicles, including a Buick, a 2010 GMC Terrain, and a second Chevrolet Cavalier (this one parked on Cemetery Street). In each case, the owner had either left the vehicle running or left the keys inside it.
Rocco and the 17-year-old are facing felony as well as misdemeanor charges in relation to the crime spree, including theft and receiving stolen property.
Arthur filed the affidavit and led the investigation, with assistance from several other patrolmen, among them Officers Timothy Mackrell, Robert Hopkins, and Fred Colonna.
“This case got as big as it was because all the officers involved worked with each other,” Arthur offered.
Police retrieved four stolen guns and returned six stolen vehicles to their owners following an investigation which resulted in the arrest of two city teens for the thefts.
Brandon Rocco, 18, of 97 Belmont St. and a 17-year-old Carbondale resident have been charged in the thefts.
According to the affidavit, it all began when police were dispatched to Rocco’s residence at 1 a.m. on Dec. 1 for a report that he was threatening to shoot his cousin with a loaded .38-caliber revolver. However, when they arrived on the scene, Rocco had already fled.
Officer Jeffrey Arthur initiated an investigation and discovered that the revolver was one of three guns which had been stolen from a parked vehicle owned by Ron Cosklo, who serves as chairman of the Fell Twp. Board of Supervisors.
Later that day, police tracked down Rocco at a residence on Terrace St. and took him into custody. He was transported to police headquarters, but said he would only speak to Officer Arthur because he knew him from occasionally seeing him and saying hello to him in town.
Rocco admitted to Arthur that he was “high” on Xanax, a prescription drug he said he “would kill for.” He stated that he stole the gun while riding around with the other teen in a Hyundai Sonata they had stolen the same day on the West Side of town.
Rocco also confessed to stealing two other vehicles with the 17-year-old in Tunkhannock, a Jeep and a 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier.
On Dec. 2, police interviewed the 17-year-old suspected accomplice at his residence. At first, he repeatedly denied having helped stolen any guns or vehicles. But after further questioning, the police report states, he admitted his role in the thefts.
He led officers to the basement of the residence, where two stolen rifles were hidden, and he turned them over. One of the rifles belonged to Cosklo and the other was stolen from a truck in Nicholson. He later turned over another stolen gun, a revolver owned by Cosklo.
The teen stated that he and Rocco had stolen three additional vehicles, including a Buick, a 2010 GMC Terrain, and a second Chevrolet Cavalier (this one parked on Cemetery Street). In each case, the owner had either left the vehicle running or left the keys inside it.
Rocco and the 17-year-old are facing felony as well as misdemeanor charges in relation to the crime spree, including theft and receiving stolen property.
Arthur filed the affidavit and led the investigation, with assistance from several other patrolmen, among them Officers Timothy Mackrell, Robert Hopkins, and Fred Colonna.
“This case got as big as it was because all the officers involved worked with each other,” Arthur offered.
