PITTSTON — One man is dead and one in custody after an early morning shooting in Pittston.
At about 1:30 a.m., city police were called to Saints and Sinners Irish Pub on Center Street for a report of a male who had been shot outside the bar.
Police say they observed Stephen Jamal Spencer, 30, on the Searle Street side of the bar, in jeans and a white T-shirt, with a handgun in his right hand.
When officers ordered him to drop the gun, Spencer allegedly responded, “Here’s the gun. I shot him.”
Police retrieved the weapon, placed Spencer in handcuffs and put him in a patrol car.
Police then rendered aid to the victim, Christopher Williams, 32, observing a gunshot entry wound in the left chest area, no exit wound and a bulge in the victim’s back.
He was transported to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
According to the report, a witness told police that, at some point in the evening, the a second witness had refused to shake hands with Spencer while playing pool, which lead to a disagreement between the two groups.
When several people attempted to leave for the evening with Williams walking slightly ahead of the them, he had been shot.
According to the first witness, Spencer had then pointed the gun at her and threatened to shoot her. The second witness, the boyfriend of the first, claimed that she was on the ground holding Williams with Spencer still in possession of his gun.
Spencer was arraigned this morning in front of District Judge Alexandra Kokura Kravitz. Bail for Spencer was denied, and he was remanded to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. He is being held on charges of criminal homicide.
