Lehighton man found guilty, Jim Thorpe man may face new trial

Two criminal trials were conducted in Carbon County court this week with a split verdict being reached Tuesday in one case and a mistrial declared in the second when the jury couldn’t reach a verdict.

Cameron L. Mooney, 31, of Lehighton, was found guilty of simple assault and resisting arrest but not guilty of the most serious charge, aggravated assault, and a count of escape.

In the second case the jury couldn’t decided if Jason Sean Reed, 44, of Jim Thorpe, was guilty of forgery or attempted theft and a mistrial had to be declared by Judge Joseph J. Matika.

Mooney case

Mooney was charged for an incident that occurred on Aug. 24, 2017.

Two Carbon County sheriff deputies, Christopher Lekka and Dan McLean, went to a residence to serve a warrant on Mooney. The arrest report indicated Mooney resisted being taken into custody, assaulted the two deputies and tried to escape. The jury deliberated about an hour in the case before reaching its split verdict.

Judge Steven R. Serfass deferred sentencing. Mooney is currently an inmate in the county prison.

Assistant District Attorney Brian B. Gazo prosecuted the case. Mooney was represented by attorney Matthew J. Mottola of the public defender’s office.

Reed case

Reed was charged by Lehighton police with attempting to pass a phony $10 bill at the Carbon Mini Mart, located at the intersection of South First and Iron streets on Nov. 4, 2015.

Police said Reed gave the $10 bill for a purchase and the clerk recognized it as a counterfeit and told Reed it was not good. Reed asked for it back but the clerk refused and called police.

Reed waited for police to come and claimed he didn’t know the bill was counterfeit and said he probably got it at another location where he had made purchases and received change.

The jury deliberated for about four hours before informing Matika they were deadlocked.

Prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Ann Dyrda Hatton, will have to decide if she wants to retry the case. Reed was represented by attorney Eric Wiltrout of the public defender’s office.