Third man charged in Lehighton stabbing, robbery

A third man has been charged for his role in an incident that resulted in a stabbing in Lehighton last month.

Bobby Hamman, 20, of Scranton, faces charges of robbery, inflict serious bodily injury; robbery, threat immediate serious injury; robbery, inflict threat of immediate bodily injury; aggravated assault and related charges.

Detective Matt Arner of the Lehighton Borough Police Department said he responded to a report of a man who was robbed and stabbed in the area of Dunbar Bottling on May 25.

The victim told police that he had made arrangements with a man named Anthony Rush to purchase THC vape cartridges from him.

One witness told police she saw three men speeding away in a Black Nissan Rogue, and that she took a photograph of the vehicle and the license plate as it left the parking lot.

The other witness said he saw two men running from the D&L Trail to a small black SUV parked in the Dunbar Bottling parking lot.

The witness described the driver as being bald, with facial hair and wearing glasses.

Police confirmed that the license plate from the photo came back to a Nissan Rogue SUV and the driver was identified as Nathan Gilman.

The victim told police he had previous contact with Rush and was able to positively identify him. He said that Rush offered to buy $300 worth of cartridges from him and they agreed to meet at the parking lot of the D&L Trail in the borough for this transaction.

He said that afternoon, he parked his vehicle on the parking lot north of the D&L pavilion. Rush and another man, identified as Hamman, approached the vehicle. Rush entered his vehicle from the front passenger door and the other man entered from the rear passenger door.

He said the other man immediately slid behind him on the driver’s side, and that Rush looked at him and said, “You know you are getting robbed.” He added that the man behind him said that he had a “piece,” and that Rush grabbed the cartridges.

The victim said that he had a small Adidas duffle bag in his center console, which contained his keys, driver’s license and $400.

The men wanted the bag, but the victim said no and grabbed the bag.

The victim said that he was stabbed in the shoulder at that time by the man in the back, and that the man then stabbed his hand and took the bag from him.

He said that he last saw them running toward Dunbar Bottling.

A print found on the rear passenger door handle was matched with Hamman.

Gilman identified both Rush and Hamman as the two other defendants in an interview with police.

Gilman said that he drove both Rush and Hamman to Lehighton, where they were going to get marijuana cartridges. He said that he was not told this was going to be a robbery and that he would be compensated by getting fuel in his vehicle.

Gilman said that he dropped them off at the Dunbar parking lot, and that they later came running to the car and told him to leave.

He said that Hamman told him that he stabbed the victim in the shoulder and hand.

Gilman later said that both Hamman and Rush were throwing items belonging to the victim out of the car window before they reached the Lehighton Interchange on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

He said that he took Hamman and Rush back to Scranton and had no further contact with them.

Gilman and Rush are facing the same charges are Hamman.

He is currently incarcerated in the Carbon County Correctional Facility in lieu of $250,000 bail, and is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing July 17 before District Judge Eric M. Schrantz of Jim Thorpe.