Police have charged the two people involved in a home invasion shooting in Port Carbon back in 2023.
Charges were filed by State Police on Friday against Vincent Yakaitis and Dennis Powanda, both of Pottsville, for their roles in the incident that happened a little before 2 a.m. on Feb. 7, 2023.
Yakaitis is facing misdemeanor gun possession charges for not having a concealed carry permit and Powanda is facing felonies for burglary and criminal trespass and other related misdemeanors.
At that time back in February 2023, police received a call that Yakaitis, the owner of an unoccupied property at 222 Second St., had shot an intruder, Powanda, there.
A Pottsville police officer was first on the scene, according to court papers filed Friday with District Magistrate David Plachko. That officer, Cpl. Jonathan Randolph, saw Powanda laying on the street and two others standing nearby, identified as Yakaitis and Georgine Yakaitis.
Randolph asked who was the shooter and Vincent Yakaitis reportedly told him that he shot Powanda. The officer collected the gun used in the incident, a Beretta 92FS 9mm handgun, that was in Yakaitis’ pants pocket when he turned it over to police.
Another gun, a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield .45 handgun, was also seized from Yakaitis that was in his coat pocket. Police also got an extra magazine of ammo from him.
Yakaitis reportedly admitted to a State Police investigator that he hadn’t had a concealed carry gun permit for more than 10 years.
That’s why police are charging him with two counts of misdemeanor gun possession. He was released Friday on $10,000 unsecured bail. A Preliminary Hearing is scheduled for April 30, at 9:30 a.m., before Plachko.
State Police were also summoned to the scene that night last year and began an initial investigation into the incident.
Yakaitis told police that he saw Powanda enter the front door of the Port Carbon property. He went to confront Powanda at the property as the suspected intruder exited.
Powanda allegedly had two bags on him at the time, a camo backpack and a large green sack, police say. After obtaining a search warrant for the bags, police say they found a blue duffel bag with the word “Sealy” printed on it.
Inquiring about this, Powanda told police that it was his bag that he got from working at Boscov’s.
Police learned in their investigation, through interviews with people who allegedly knew Powanda, that he was aware that that Port Carbon property contained valuable automobile parts.
Powanda is facing second-degree felony burglary and third-degree felony criminal trespass charges and several misdemeanor offenses. He was released Friday on $25,000 unsecured bail. He’s got a Preliminary Hearing to answer to these charges at 9:15 a.m. on April 30.
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