Shen man faces
multiple charges
SHENANDOAH - A borough man was jailed Wednesday after being arrested by Shenandoah police for an assault that occurred on West Poplar Street about 5:10 p.m.
Police said Kevin L. Cooney, 29, of 102 W. Laurel St., was arraigned by on-call Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko, Port Carbon, on charges of two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, possessing instruments of crime and public drunkenness.
Cooney was committed to Schuylkill County Prison unable to post $50,000 straight cash bail set by Plachko.
Police Chief George Carado said Patrolman Travis Bowman was caked to the 500 block of West Poplar for a report of a man in the street in his underwear waiving an axe in the air and yelling that he was stuffing a dead body in abandoned mattresses.
On scene, Bowman saw a man, later identified as Cooney, waving an object in the air and stuffing something under a mattress. Bowman drew his weapon and ordered Cooney on the ground, but the man ignored commands.
The chief said Bowman ordered Cooney to drop what he was holding, but the man refused and began walking toward the officer saying "just kill me."
Bowman was able to put some distance between he and Cooney, holstered his firearm and then used his Taser to incapacitate the man and take him into custody.
Carado said Cooney's behavior was consistent with the use of bath salts and that he admitted he swallowed a gram of bath salts on Monday.