On August 28, 1972, a man burglarizing a building at the Hegins Mining Company was caught in the act by Hegins Township Police. In an attempt to avoid apprehension, he exchanged fire with the police. One of the police bullets struck him in the head and he died in the hospital the next day. Afterward, it was discovered that the man was wanted for a parole violation and had avoided capture on several previous occasions. His “rap sheet” included several burglaries where firearms were stolen. It was normal procedure to hold an inquest to determine if the the police chief was negligent in firing the fatal shot. The result was that the jury returned in 10 minutes completely exonerating the chief.
Some of the published stories about this burglary and shooting are presented below.
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From the Pottsville Republican, August 29, 1972:
THEFT SUSPECT SHOT IN EFFORT TO ESCAPE
A 26-year-old Pottsville man, Anthony Sinkovich, was listed in “poor condition” this morning at Reading Hospital with a gunshot wound of the head.
Hegins Township police said the man was shot during an alleged burglary attempt at the Hegins Mining Company repair shop in Frailey Township, near Newtown, after he reportedly had fired first while attempting to escape apprehension. Police had been summoned to the scene Monday evening after a burglar alarm system was activated.
According to Hegins police, they encountered the man leaving a shed and ordered him to halt. Instead, he fired at police and fled into a wooded area nearby, exiting on Interstate Route 81. Police again called for him to halt but the suspect responded by firing at them, at which point police said they returned fire and felled the man.
Hegins Township policemen at the scene were Chief Melvin Stutzman and Patrolman William Lubold.
Sinkovich was taken to Pottsville Hospital, then transferred to Reading Hospital.
Lt. Jay Ziegler of Schuylkill Haven State Police said the suspect had a .38 caliber revolver in his possession.
The investigation is being conducted by State Police and the District Attorney’s personnel.
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From the Pottsville Republican & Herald, August 29, 1972:
MAN WOUNDED IN SHOOTOUT
LATE BULLETIN: Anthony Sinkovich, wounded in a burglary attempt last night, died this morning in Reading Hospital.
A Pottsville man, suspected in a burglary at Hegins, was shot and seriously wounded last night by police as he attempted to flee along Route 81.
State Police reported that Anthony Sinkovich, 26, was lised in critical condition at Reading Hospital with a gunshot wound of the head.
Troopers said Sinkovich was wounded after an exchange of shots and a chase with Hegins Police Chief Melvin Stutzman and Patrolman William Lubold.
An investigation was conducted by Schuylkill County District Attorney Richard Russell and state police.
State Police Lt. Jay Ziegler said the incident occurred at the Hegins Mining Compnay, about 20 miles west of Pottsville.
Police were dispatched to the mine when a burglar alarm went off between 7:30 and 8 p. m. Monday.
When the police arrived, Stutzman and Lubold approached a shed on the mining company grounds.
A man ran out of the shed.
The chief shouted, “Halt. Police.”
The man turned and fired a shot at the police. Stutzman and Lubold returned the fire from about 50 yards away – firing off four shots from a revolver (Stutzman) and three rounds from a shotgun (Lubold). The suspect wasn’t hit.
The suspect ran down a road and into a wooded area. The chief and the patrolman followed. The suspect ran out onto Route 81.
The chief again shouted to the man to halt. The suspect turned and fired a shot. Stutzman fired twice with one bullet hitting the man in the head.
Ziegler said that the suspect was carrying a .38-caliber revolver and fired at least twice at police.
Ziegler said that the investigation will continue today.
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From the Pottsville Republican, August 30, 1972:
VICTIM BLAMED HIS PROBLEMS ON ALCOHOL
FEAR HAMPERED ATTEMPTS AT APPREHENSION
By Paul Yakamavage, Staff Writer
Anthony Sinkovich, 26, who was fatally wounded after an attempted burglary in Hegins Township Monday night, was no stranger to trouble.
Court records and other sources reveal that he was the subject of an intensive search by state parole officers at the time he was shot.
Sinkovich also had a record of burglary convictions and a self-admitted alcoholism problem before a police bullet snuffed out his life.
There is also evidence that he intimidated some residents of the Primrose-Jonestown area to the point where some police informants ceased to inform and at least one person within the past two months helped Sinkovich avoid recapture for an alleged parole violation.
At the time he was shot, Sinkovich was on parole after pleading guilty to three county burglaries performed in 1970.
The first of the burglaries occurred on September 4, 1970 at the Hem Lock Corporation building and the Trezise Catering Service, both located in Minersville. Two antique rifles were stolen. Sinkovich also pleaded guilty to stealing an army carbine, bows and arrows and change from a cigarette machine at the Trail Motors in North Manheim Township, November 25, 1970. Finally, Sinkovich confessed guilt to a burglary at the Economy Supply building in Mount Carbon. That burglary occurred in December 1970 and among the items taken were 21 pistols.
On July 12, 1971, Judge George Heffner sentenced Sinkovich to from 11½ to 23 months in the county prison on the charges.
Two months later, Larry Joe Kaufman, Gordon, pleaded guilty to receiving stolen goods from Sinkovich relating to the burglary at Economy Supply. He as placed on 18 months probation.
Edward Hunt Jr., Hecksherville, also pleaded guilty to receiving stolen goods from Sinkovich. The charges stemmed from the thefts at Trail Motors in November 1970. Hunts sentence was defereed and no indication was found that Hunt ever was sentenced on the charges.
Blamed on Alcohol
Sinkovich was paroled on December 22, 1971, stating in his parole application that he thought his problems were due to alcoholism. He agreed to undergo treatment at an alcoholism clinic in Pottsville and was placed under the supervision of state parole officers. His parole would have expired in January 1973.
State parole agent Harold Rowan said that at first Sinkovich appeared to be working hard to met the conditions of his parole. The two warrants for the arrest were issued on motor vehicle charges. Parole officers and state police began the hunt to apprehend him.
The intensive search to locate Sinkovich began in July, Rowan said. Sinkovich was reported to be carrying a pistol. Rowan recalled nearly apprehending him on one occasion, but Sinkovich escaped after being alerted by a phone call from a confederate.
Finding Sinkovich became increasingly difficult, Rowan said, because people in the Primrose-Jonestown area feared the convicted burglar.
Rowan and parole agent Joseph Lee were driving through the county still searching for Sinkovich at 2:30 a. m. Tuesday not knowing that he had been finally and fatally apprehended by Hegins Township police.
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From the Pine Grove Press Herald, August 31, 1972:
AFTERMATH OF ROBBERY
WOUND FROM POLICE BULLET FATAL TO POTTSVILLE MAN
A Pottsville man died in Reading Hospital on Tuesday from bullet wounds received in an attempted burglary at Hegins Mining Company on Monday.
According to Schuylkill Haven State Police, the victim, Anthony James Sinkovich of 13 North 6th Street, Pottsville was apparently burglarizing the scale house of Hegins Mining Company about 7:30 p. m. on Monday and tripped an alarm. The operation is located about one mile north of Newtown and, upon hearing the alarm, neighbors called Mr. Earl Kieffer of Hegins, owner of the mine, who in turn called Hegins Township Police Chief Melvin G. Stutzman and Assistant William Lubold.
As the police approached the chanty, one man came out carrying a pistol and fired at the police. Lubold returned fire and the man fled toward I-81. While crossing the highway he fired again, and the police returned fire, a bullet hitting him in the head.
The suspect, who allegedly had a .38 caliber pistol in his possession, was identified as Sinkovich. He was taken in the Tremont Ambulance to Pottsville Hospital and then to Reading Hospital where he died the next day.
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From the Pottsville Republican, September 1, 1972:
SINKOVICH DEATH INQUEST SCHEDULED
District Attorney Richard Russel has announced that a coroners inquest will be held on the death of Anthony Sinkovich, 26, who died of a gunshot wound in an apparent burglary attempt Monday evening.
Russell said that Berks County Coroner Dr. John A. Focht is in charge of the inquest.. No date has been set for the proceedings, Russel said.
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From the Hazleton Standard-Speaker, September 5, 1972:
State Police at Schuylkill Haven said Monday investigations are continuing in the fatal shootings of two alleged burglars.
Hegins Township Police Chief Melvin Stutzman and Patrolman William Lubold told state police that Anthony J. Sinkovich, 26, of Pottsille, fired two shots at them while attempting to escape from the repair shop at the Hegins Mining Company on August 28 [1972] after a burglar alarm sounded.
The township police said they called to Sinkovich to stop after he left the shop. They said he fired a shot and ran into a wooded area. The police said they again called to the suspect, but he fired at them again. They said they returned fire and Sinkovich was struck in the head by a bullet fired by Stutzman. he died the next day in Reading Hospital.
Schuylkill County District Attorney Richard Russel said no date has been set as yet for a coroner’s inquest by Dr. John A. Focht, Berks County coroner.
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From the Allentown Morning Call, October 20, 1972:
POLICE CHIEF EXONERATED IN SHOOTING
READING — A Berks County coroner’s jury Thursday exonerated a Schuylkill County police of negligence in the fatal shooting of a burglary suspect last August 28.
An inquest was conducted by Dr. John Focht at the berks County Courthouse in the death of Anthony J. Sinkovich who was wouned by Police Chief Melvin Stutzman of Hegins Township as Sinkovich exchanged shots with the chief near the Hegins Mining Company. Sinkovich died in the Reading Hospital on August 29.
Chief Stutzman and his assistant, William Lubold, told the jury that when they arrived at the scene near interstate Route 81, they observed an armed man leaving a shed near the mining company’s garage. When the suspect was ordered to stop he whirled around and fired a shot, according to the officers.
Lubold testified that he fired a sawed-off shot gun but missed the suspect who ran out onto I-81. Chief Stutzman said the fleeing man was again ordered to stop and he again fired a shot at the officers. According to the chief he fired twice and wounded Sinkovich in the head.
The jury delivered for 10 minutes before exonerating the chief of negligence.
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News articles from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.