HANOVER TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU-TV) — U.S. Marshals and local police surrounded a home in Hanover Township Thursday morning looking for a man charged with threatening three people in Luzerne County.
West Pittston Police say John Arnone Jr. sent threatening text messages and letters to his former employers at Kuharchik Construction in Exeter after being laid off in December.
According to the criminal complaint, Arnone Jr. would send messages to the victims and would “switch from subject to subject.” Some of which included Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” lyrics and sending pictures of relatives’ gravestones.
According to court documents, Arnone Jr. was told by police on three different occasions after the initial charges were filed to stop having contact with the victims.
Along with sending the alleged messages, one of the victims in West Pittston reported capturing Arnone Jr. placing a letter in her mailbox on a home security system.
Arnone Jr. is also reported to have sent threatening text messages to another victim in Dallas while sitting outside their home in a vehicle.
The victims say they felt threatened by communications made by Arnone Jr. and even changed daily habits due to the situation.
On December 23, the report states Arnone Jr., after being laid off, was seen near the properties of Kuharchik Construction in Exeter and Wyoming Boroughs. This prompted police-assisted evacuations of the businesses in the interest of employee safety.
Arnone Jr. had been previously warned by the company and their attorney to stay off of the property after making threats of violence toward the business and employees.
Thursday morning, police and the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Arnone Jr. at his home in the 200 block of Lee Park Avenue in Hanover Township. The road was closed for several hours before they took him into custody around 8:20 a.m.
John Arnone Jr. is facing charges of stalking, terroristic threats, harassment, and loitering among other related charges. He is locked up in the Luzerne County Prison on $100,000 bail.
