Sam Sanguedolce

Even as overdose deaths overall have been down this year, county officials say there’s a trend in deaths linked to a dangerous new drug combination on Luzerne County streets.

Luzerne County officials hosted a press conference Tuesday morning to discuss the uptick in the county’s overdose deaths, 12 of which have been connected to cocaine laced with fentanyl in the last three months.

The Luzerne County District Attorney's office dropped criminal homicide and conspiracy charges against Thomas Hunter in the 2011 killing of prominent Luzerne County businessman Jonathan Balester. His cousin, Frederick Balester, still faces a homicide charge.

Shawn Adams, 56, was transported to an area hospital for evaluation and treatment, Luzerne County District Attorney Sanguedolce and Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Michael Boyle said in a statement released Tuesday.

Senate Bill 1284, which now heads to the House, is named for Kyle Gilmartin, the Scranton Police Department detective who survived being shot twice in the head in 2024.

Luzerne County law enforcement officials talked about the case against Bobbiejo Etzel, 37, who is accused of killing teenage niece La'Niyah Clark, as well as controversy surrounding their investigation.

A possible multi-county agreement regarding youth juvenile detention received mixed reactions in Lehigh County Wednesday night. Lackawanna County signed onto the agreement in February.

Desiree Linnette, 45, is the third of five suspects to enter a plea in the 2023 torture and murder of Nicole Cuevas-Ingram in Wilkes-Barre.

La'Niyah Clark went missing on Jan. 17. Investigators said a body found in South Wilkes-Barre last week was hers. La'Niyah's loved ones held a vigil Saturday evening at the parking garage off Thayer Street where the teen's remains were found.

La’Niyah Clark went missing in mid-January. On Tuesday, Luzerne County District Attorney Sanguedolce said they believe the remains of a woman found Saturday in the city are related to La’Niyah’s case, but did not elaborate. The teenager's family called for action outside the Wilkes-Barre Police Department.