Father-to-be burglar, contraband smuggler sentenced to state prison

Ed Lewis, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·2 min read
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Mar. 18—WILKES-BARRE — A man from Plains Township who burglarized two gasoline service stations as he needed cash as a father-to-be and later conspired with two people to smuggle contraband while jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility was sentenced to state prison Monday.

Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas sentenced John Mosier, 36, last known address Pocono Mobile Home Park, to two years, three months to four years, six months in prison on two total counts of burglary and a single count of criminal conspiracy to possess a controlled substance by an inmate.

Court records say Mosier burglarized the Exxon service station on Bear Creek Boulevard in Bear Creek Township at about 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2022, and burglarized Liberty Exxon on East End Boulevard, Plains Township, at about 1 a.m. Oct. 20, 2022.

Pennsylvania State Police at Wilkes-Barre said video footage of the Exxon burglary in Bear Creek Township showed a bald man, identified as Mosier, smash a front window and removed cash from a register before fleeing, court records say.

Hours after the Bear Creek Township burglary, Plains Township police in court records say Mosier used a pipe wrench to smash a glass window at Liberty Exxon and grabbed several rolls of coins and a cash drawer before fleeing.

Mosier was captured by the U.S. Marshals and Pennsylvania State Police fugitive task forces.

After his arrest, Mosier admitted to the burglaries because he was about to become a father and needed money, court records say.

While jailed at the county correctional facility on April 24, 2023, Mosier conspired with Susan Shaffer, 40, and Kayshawn George, 19, to smuggle marijuana into the correctional facility's yard.

Shaffer and George used a slingshot to propel a package of marijuana while Mosier was in the yard, court records say.

Shaffer was sentenced to eight months in prison and George was sentenced to one-year to two-years, six months in prison on contraband related offenses.