Suspects appear in court on riot charges in Turkey Hill incident

Suspects in a large fight at a Turkey Hill in Lansford that injured three teens were in court this week.

One suspect pleaded guilty to a citation Wednesday, while four others agreed to waive preliminary hearings and have their charges go to county court.

Four suspects — Richard Rodweller, 41; Arthur Rodweller, 20; Phil Argott, 19; and Hunter Skidmore, 19, all agreed to waive their preliminary hearings before Judge Casimir T. Kosciolek.

They are each facing one felony charge of riot, as well as misdemeanor charges in the case.

Three juveniles have also been charged with felony riot in the case, but information on their cases is not available to the public because they are under 18.

The charges stem from a fight that allegedly occurred the night of June 15 outside of the Turkey Hill Minit Mart on West Patterson Street.

Lansford Police filed charges after reviewing surveillance video of the incident. Some of the participants refused to speak with police about what happened.

Police said video showed that around 9:30 p.m., about 16 people were involved in a fight in the parking lot of the Turkey Hill store.

A Turkey Hill employee tried to get them to leave. She said some of the teens did, but the adults continued to assault them.

A neighbor was allegedly threatened for trying to stop the fight.

Police said the fight occurred after a verbal disagreement between Arthur Rodweller and some of the juveniles. Rodweller allegedly returned to the scene with the other adults charged in the fight.

Two juveniles suffered broken noses and facial lacerations, and another suffered hearing damage, police said.

Prosecutors also agreed to drop charges against 34-year-old Casey Rodweller, who agreed to plead guilty to a summary citation of disorderly conduct. She reportedly did not leave her vehicle during the melee.

The four other suspects have a scheduled formal arraignment at the Carbon County Courthouse on Dec. 14. They remain out on $100,000 unsecured bail.