Man gets jail after gun-pointing incident at resort

A Lehigh County man, convicted by a Carbon County jury of simple assault in a gun-pointing incident, was recently sentenced to a county prison term.

Scott Timothy Watkins, 52, of New Tripoli, was sentenced by President Judge Roger N. Nanovic II to serve six to 18 months in prison on a charge of simple assault. On a harassment count he was ordered to pay a fine of $300.

A jury panel deliberated just over four hours on March 8, 2018, and returned a split verdict. The panel found him guilty of simple assault and not guilty of recklessly endangering another person. Both counts are misdemeanors.

Watkins was charged by state police at Lehighton for an incident on May 14, 2016, at the Sunny Rest resort in Lower Towamensing Township.

Troopers accused him of pointing a .40-caliber handgun at security guard Christopher Wean, of Palmerton, at his trailer site in the clothing-optional resort.

Watkins denied the accusations claiming self-defense in that he was afraid of Wean, claiming he knew that Wean had a conviction for simple assault and recklessly endangering in the past.

Although Nanovic ordered Watkins to report to the county prison at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 30 to begin his sentence, the reporting date was later delayed when the court was notified that Watkins was appealing the verdict. Nanovic ruled Watkins could remain free on bail pending the appeal.

The trial was the second for Watkins on the charges. A previous trial was cut short when Nanovic learned that some of the jurors had been discussing the case before completion of all the testimony and the charge of the court. The judge declared a mistrial when at least four jurors admitted they had been discussing the case despite the court’s instructions at the beginning of the trial to not discuss the case until deliberations begin.

Trial testimony

During the trial, Wean testified that he and another guard, Jason Cerkan, drove Watkins’ wife, Lisa, to their trailer from a deck party a short distance away. They entered the trailer for a short period of time before exiting again.

While standing outside, Wean said Watkins arrived in his vehicle and slammed on the brakes, got out, and quickly went into the trailer. Wean said he heard yelling going on inside the trailer but could not make out what was being said. He said he was standing near a window and saw Watkins strike his wife three times in the face.

He said he told Cerkan what he saw. Cerkan knocked on the door and Watkins appeared. Cerkan testified that he observed Watkins reaching behind his back and thought he was reaching for a gun. Cerkan said he ran to a golf cart the two were using to get around the resort.

Wean stayed near the door and said the next thing he knew, Watkins was holding the barrel of the gun against his left cheek. After a few moments he said Watkins dropped the gun to his side. Wean said he went to the golf cart, turned it around and headed for the office area.

Watkins told a different story as to what happened. He said when he entered the trailer he found his wife in an intoxicated condition, which she was not when she left the party for the trailer.

He also said he thought she might have been drugged, claiming as he walked by Wean before entering the trailer he smelled marijuana.

Watkins said after seeing his wife, he opened the trailer door and yelled out to Wean and Cerkan to leave. He said he repeated the order several times. He said he saw Wean walking toward him at the trailer door and that was when he pulled out his gun. He said he again told Wean to leave. He said Wean took two more steps toward him and then turned around and left.

Watkins said the gun’s safety was on at the time. He said after he felt that both men had left, he called police to report the incident.

He said he never struck his wife that night and never put the gun against Wean’s cheek.

Testimony from other commonwealth witnesses, including investigating state trooper Michael Sofranko, and another trooper, both stating they believed Watkins was intoxicated.

Wean and Cerkan also said Watkins and his wife were both intoxicated.

Watkins told the jury he had only one mixed drink all evening.

After the verdict was read, Nanovic found Watkins guilty of a summary count of harassment.

Nanovic also ordered Watkins to get for a drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations and follow any recommendations for treatment, pay a $50 per month supervision fee when paroled and pay court costs of about $1,000.