A Wilkes-Barre woman helped a shooting suspect flee the area Tuesday and misled investigators about his whereabouts, police say.
Tierra Gilliam, 22, of South River Street, faces a felony charge of hindering apprehension or prosecution.
Police were searching for Jason D. Dates, 33, of Nanticoke, who is accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend in the leg Tuesday morning in Hanover Township.
Investigators say Gilliam told negotiators that Dates got out of her car on Old River Road, where police surrounded a house believing Dates was inside.
He wasn't.
Gilliam was actually driving Dates south on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike toward Philadelphia, police allege in an affidavit against her.
The shooting
Police say Dates shot his ex-girlfriend, who is not named in the affidavit, through the door of her car in the area of Fellows Avenue and the Sans Souci Parkway at 8:53 a.m. Tuesday.
Dates was already wanted for an April 9 Protection from Abuse order violation, the affidavit states.
The woman drove to the nearby Hanover Township Building seeking help.
Hanover Twp. Manager Sam Guesto on Tuesday said a woman driving a white SUV pulled into the township municipal building parking lot about 9 a.m.
The woman "actually laid on her horn for quite some time seeking assistance for what was found out to be a bullet, gunfire through her side door," Guesto said.
The woman suffered a leg wound, he said.
The township building was closed until about 1:30 p.m.
Police: Contact with Dates and Gilliam
At 10:37 a.m. the Luzerne County 911 center received a telephone call stating that Dates was hiding at 111 Old River Road, Wilkes-Barre, and was armed with a rifle and waiting for the police.
Investigators said the call came from a number subscribed to Dates.
At about noon negotiators with the FBI, Wilkes-Barre police and Luzerne County detectives made contact with Dates at a number belonging to another person with the last name Gilliam.
"During the negotiations, Dates agreed to turn himself into the police," the affidavit says. During one conversation, Tierra Gilliam "spoke to the negotiators and told them that Dates exited the vehicle on Old River Road."
Police say they obtained call records for the number and learned that the phone was actually traveling south on the Turnpike toward Philadelphia.
Investigators also were able to match license plate readers to the phone records and identified a 2019 Ford Fusion that was believed to be transporting Dates, the affidavit states.
Investigators locate vehicle, Gilliam
Investigators located the Ford Fusion in the area of Park and South streets, Wilkes-Barre, at about 9:40 p.m. Tuesday. A few minutes later they saw Gilliam exit a home on Park Avenue and walk toward the car.
Police approached Gilliam, "who was angry," the affidavit states. She "later admitted she drove Dates to Philadelphia."
Gilliam was arrested and arraigned Wednesday morning before Magisterial District Judge Kyle Halesey, who set bail at $15,000.
She initially was committed to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, but court documents updated Wednesday afternoon indicated that Gilliam was able to post bail through a bondsman.
A preliminary hearing in her case is scheduled for April 27 in Luzerne County Central Court.
Dates: Suspect with history still wanted
Dates was still wanted Wednesday afternoon on charges including aggravated assault, illegal firearms possession, carrying a firearm without a license, terroristic threats, simple assault and reckless endangerment.
Court records show Dates has a criminal history dating back to 2011 on a range of charges, including weapons and assault convictions that resulted in prison time, and two PFAs filed last year.
