Police raid tire shop, adjoining barber shop in Pine Brook
Nov. 11—SCRANTON — Scranton police on Friday searched a Pine Brook business that was the scene of a shooting last year.
Around 1 p.m. police armed with rifles began a search of Pop's Garage at the corner of Capouse Avenue and Ash Street.
Police Chief Thomas Carroll said the search warrant on the tire shop and adjacent Prime Kutz Barber Shop is part of an ongoing criminal investigation. He declined to comment further. Authorities did not publicly disclose what they sought or if they seized anything.
Deputy District Attorney Drew Krowiak, who handles narcotics prosecutions at the district attorney's office, attended the execution of the warrant. He deferred comment to District Attorney Mark Powell, who could not be reached.
Police put three men in handcuffs and loaded them into a prisoner transport van. A man who said he lives nearby, who refused to identify himself, clapped as officers led the detained men away.
Police tape cordoned off the businesses and drug-detecting dogs sniffed around vehicles parked by the building. Police, including members of the department's Street Crimes Unit, searched through a few cars by hand as well.
"I knew it was coming," said Richard Schick, a nearby neighbor. "I knew it was due."
Schick said neighbors frequently contend with loud music and foul language coming from the property. He said he's tried to confront the group of people who hang out there, but was brushed off.
The tire shop — about 150 feet away from John Adams Elementary School — was the scene of a shooting in August 2021. Scranton police responded to the garage bay at Pop's on Aug. 13, 2021, to find Ferrew Atkins sitting in a chair bleeding from two gunshot wounds. He survived the encounter.
Soon after, Alfred R. Robinson identified himself to police and declared, "I shot the guy," according to a criminal complaint.
Robinson, who was listed as an owner of the garage and barbershop, told police Atkins entered the business to start a fight with a customer and waved around a pipe. Robinson warned Atkins to leave or he would get a gun, police said. Atkins continued to fight and Robinson fired twice, police said.
Robinson, 502 Harrison Ave., was sentenced in October to 18 to 36 months by Lackawanna County Judge Andy Jarbola on a gun charge. He remained in the Lackawanna County Prison on Friday.
Pennsylvania Department of State business records show the barbershop is owned by Corey McCullough, of Scranton.
Reached by phone, McCullough said the police told him they were there to serve a search warrant signed by Lackawanna County Judge Margaret Bisignani Moyle as part of a narcotics investigation, though McCullough said he never saw the warrant. However, he said, the police did not seize anything.
City code enforcement officials responded later Friday to inspect the building and then issue a condemnation notice, which McCullough said he was told was due to a permitting issue. He has to wait until Monday to try and resolve the condemnation.
"They're harassing me," McCullough said. "They're trying to close my business."
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.
