State prison sentence imposed for ramming South Abington Twp. police car during chase

Oct. 11—A Newton Twp. man who rammed a South Abington Twp. patrol car during a February pursuit was sentenced Tuesday to state prison.

Kyle Linney, 41, of 1811 Newton-Ransom Blvd., Apt. 2, faces 20 to 60 months in prison followed by a year of probation, Lackawanna County Judge Margaret Bisignani Moyle ruled during Tuesday's virtual hearing.

Moyle said Linney will be given credit for the time he's already served.

"He made a terrible decision," said Linney's attorney, Amanda Gumble. "He completely regrets he didn't just pull over like he should have."

On Feb. 26, township Patrolman Leonard K. Harvey tried to pull Linney over after he left the Econo Lodge on Northern Boulevard because he had an invalid license plate.

Instead of stopping, Linney fled to I-81 and onto Main Street in Dickson City, nearly striking other vehicles. Harvey tried to stop him as he reached a dead end on Lincoln Street but Linney rammed Harvey's car and sped off.

He was captured days later in Scranton's Keyser Valley section.

Though Linney was under court supervision at the time for a previous criminal case, he had not violated his probation before February's pursuit, Gumble argued. Should he be allowed probation, he could live with his girlfriend in Old Forge.

"He really has no excuse for it other than not making the right decision in the moment," Gumble said.

In July, Linney pleaded guilty to fleeing or attempting to elude police, reckless endangerment and flight to avoid apprehension.

For those three charges, Moyle imposed a sentence of one to three years in prison followed by one year of probation.

However, Moyle also revoked his two-year probation sentence for an earlier theft case and added an additional eight months to two years behind bars to his prison term.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.