2/11/2026
Newport Twp. police charged man after allegedly beating woman
Times Leader

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NEWPORT TWP. — Police in Newport Township arrested Tashawn Deonte Qualls, 26, on allegations he violently assaulted his girlfriend and prevented her from leaving her residence for several days, according to court records.
Qualls, of West Main Street, Plymouth, was arrested when found by police sleeping inside the woman’s residence Tuesday night. Qualls was arraigned by District Judge Donald Whitaker of Nanticoke on two counts each of simple assault, terroristic threats, false imprisonment and unlawful restraint, and a single count of harassment. Qualls was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $75,000 bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
A woman reported to police Tuesday that Qualls punched her in the head several times and slammed her head against a banister on Feb. 2. After the alleged beating, Qualls called the woman’s sister and stated, “I just beat your sister’s (expletive), she needs to go to the hospital.”
When she returned to her residence, she claimed Qualls took and searched her phone, and threatened to kill her and her 1-month-old daughter if she attempted to leave, the complaint alleges.
The woman told police she was unable to leave out of fear Qualls would harm her and her infant. She managed to leave after Qualls fell asleep and reported the alleged beatings to police.
Police in the complaint say the woman had facial swelling and bruises.

 

1/23/2026
Glen Lyon man gets 4 years for gun conspiracy
jhalpin@citizensvoice.com

 
A Glen Lyon man who was convicted of conspiring to illegally traffic firearms was sentenced this week to four years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Julia K. Munley sentenced Jeremy Shea, 35, on Wednesday to the prison term followed by two years of probation.
Shea previously admitted to conspiring with three others to traffic at least three firearms in Luzerne County between April 2022 and July 9, 2024, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, Shea picked up guns from his brother’s hotel room after his brother was arrested in an unrelated case, then safeguarded the weapons in his house with the intent to sell or give them to others.
A search of Shea’s home turned up an American Tactical AR-style rifle with a Bushell mounted optic, a short-barreled AR-15-style rifle, a .22-caliber EIG model E15 six-shot revolver, AR-style magazines, ammunition and drug paraphernalia, prosecutors said.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Luzerne County Drug Task Force investigated the case.
 

1/12/2026
Newswatch 16's Valeria Quiñones takes us to St. Adalbert's church for its final mass.
Author: Valeria Quiñones

GLEN LYON, Pa. — Inside of st. Adalbert's Church on South Market Street in Glen Lyon: The choir sings to the Holy Spirit parish for one last time. The last roman catholic church in Newport Township will close its doors for good, and a 137-year legacy will come to an end.
"It was the sacrifices of poorly paid, hardworking coalminers that made possible this beautiful church," says retired reverend James McGahagan. He came back to the church for this final mass. 
He reminisced on the generations of people who worshiped here, a faith they will take with them elsewhere. 
"The faith of our parents, grandparents, great grandparents, lives on in each of us," says McGahagan. 
In a letter from bishop Joseph Bambara, he says that as local demographics changed and church attendance declined, the decision to close the doors of St. Adalbert's Church came in the face of significant financial challenges as a result. 
A stark difference is seen from the usual turnout to the one for this final mass, where every pew is filled.
McGahagan says, "With heavy hearts, we think back to when there were 3 parishes flourishing in town, and today are saddened at the loss of the last of them."
What is left of Holy Spirit Parish's parishioners will be taken up by St. Faustina Parish in Nanticoke and Our lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Lake Silkworth.