Luzerne hires new police chief as missing guns investigation continues

LUZERNE — While the search continues for guns missing from its evidence room, the borough found a new police chief in Chris Prescott.

Picked by Luzerne Mayor James Keller and approved in a 4-1 vote by council Wednesday night, Prescott was hired for the top spot in a department staffed with part-time officers and under investigation for the missing guns.

Prescott, 58, of Bloomsburg, acknowledged things got “a little untidy” and looked forward to leading the department. He was given a contract for 3½ years, starting full-time on July 1 at an annual salary of $70,000 plus benefits.

“I’m up for the task,” Prescott said in brief remarks at the regularly scheduled council meeting.

“He was a good catch for us,” Keller said after administering the oath of office to Prescott with his wife Yvette looking on.

Keller said he offered Prescott the job because of his background. “I was happy to get him because we needed officers. But he didn’t want to leave what he was doing,” Keller said.

The new chief listed 35 years of law enforcement experience on his resume, including 14 months as a part-time officer in the borough. He worked most of that time with the Mahoning Township Police Department in Montour County, retiring in 2015 at the rank of sergeant. He then worked as a deputy sheriff in Columbia County and spent the last four years as a school resource officer for the Millville Area School District, also in Columbia County.

Topping his list as chief is staffing, Prescott said.

“We’d like to get some officers hired and back on the roster. Full-time and part-time, we’ll take what we can right now,” Prescott said.

Full time officers and Prescott’s predecessor Michael Kotwasinski resigned their positions recently. Council approved three part-time officers for June and five for July, all at $21 an hour.

Prescott did not have much to say about the ongoing investigation by the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office

“You know what, I wish I could comment more on that, but the officer in charge was basically handling that. And up to that point, when all that was going on, I was still working my full-time job and doing this part-time. So, I wasn’t really in the mix. I don’t have all the updated information,” Prescott said.

Detectives from the DA’s Office served a search warrant at the borough police department on June 2 in an attempt to locate firearms seized by borough officers from a residence on Vaughn Street in 2021. The firearms, mostly handguns, were evidence in an investigation into straw purchases for a convicted felon.

Keller offered a bit more information on the investigation.

“What’s going on is, I believe the person’s on Vaughn Street and there was 18 guns involved in this. And I believe, seven or eight, no 10 of them were bought by a lady that bought them to give to someone that couldn’t buy guns. Now again, what’s going on is they’re looking for these guns that no one knows anything about. We don’t have any information on them because we don’t have them,” Keller said.

Keller confirmed there was a search and no guns were located in the evidence room.

“But we welcome this. We want to get this over. And if there is anything going on, we want to know about it,” Keller said.

Keller said he had faith Prescott was “going to get it straightened out.”

Councilman Tony Perzia cast the lone “No” vote to hire Prescott, explaining it was the chief’s contract rather than his qualifications.

“As far as the gentleman, he’s a good man,” Perzia said. “And I told him, ‘I’ll be behind your back. I’ll help you.’”