Man pleads guilty to threatening judge, corrections officer

Ed Lewis, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·1 min read

Mar. 12—WILKES-BARRE — A Wilkes-Barre man pleaded guilty to threatening a Luzerne County judge during a protection-from abuse hearing and a corrections officer after he was jailed at the county correctional facility.

Jacob Ryan Cartwright, 33, pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats before specially assigned Lackawanna County Senior Judge Thomas J. Munley on Friday.

Munley was assigned to preside over Cartwright's case when Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Vough ordered a "full bench recusal" of Luzerne County judges.

Cartwright was charged by the sheriff's department with threatening Luzerne County Judge Richard Hughes and a sheriff deputy during a protection-from abuse hearing held in Courtroom Two at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Oct. 25, according to court records.

Nearing the end of the proceeding, Hughes found Cartwright guilty of indirect criminal contempt of court.

Cartwright's behavior changed and became more aggressive as he yelled multiple threats and used obscene language directed at Hughes.

Hughes revoked Cartwright's bail, resulting in him being taken into custody and taken to the county correctional facility.

While jailed, Cartwright cut himself and used his own blood to write the name of a deceased corrections officer on a cell wall and threatened a corrections officer, the complaint says.

Cartwright, who remains jailed without bail, is scheduled to be sentenced April 12.

Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General Brian M. Zarallo prosecuted.

Reach Ed Lewis at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TLEdLewis