Charges filed in shooting
Published: April 3, 2009
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share thisScranton police Thursday filed attempted murder and other charges against an Altoona man suspected in a South Scranton shooting last month.
Joseph Brian Olecki, 33, of 633 Drexel Lane, was charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault, discharge of a firearm, simple assault and four counts of reckless endangerment. Police say he traveled to Scranton on March 15 and shot Michael Ross, 31, and his wife, Lindsey Ross, 25, as they were on the rear deck of their 528 Beech St. home with their two children.
Mr. Ross was shot in the right arm and groin. Mrs. Ross was struck in the right arm.
Community Medical Center spokeswoman Jane Gaul said she had no information on the couple’s condition or whether they had been discharged from the hospital.
Mrs. Ross told police she and her husband did not immediately realize they had been shot. She said she heard three or four shots, but didn’t know where they came from, then saw her husband grab his arm. She then noticed she had been shot; she grabbed her arm and fell to the porch floor screaming.
County and city law officials brought the charges after reviewing witness testimony, surveillance video and cell phone calls they say indicate Mr. Olecki was in the area at the time of the shooting. Police did not identify in their documents a motive for the shooting. In the early 1990s, Mr. Olecki lived at 526 Beech — next door to the Ross residence — where the suspect’s relatives still live.
First Assistant District Attorney Gene Talerico approved the charges Thursday and said he was told Scranton police will travel to Blair County early next week to bring Mr. Olecki to Scranton.
Police were waiting to file the charges against Mr. Olecki until after his preliminary hearing in Blair County, where he is in jail on attempted homicide charges for allegedly firing 21 rounds from an assault rifle into his ex-girlfriend’s house in Logan Twp. on March 14, the day before the Scranton incident.
During Mr. Olecki’s arrest in Logan Twp. on March 16, police found him in possession of two AK-47 rifles and ammunition similar to spent casings found at the shooting there and in Scranton, according to police.
Contact the writer: jdurkin@timesshamrock.com
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