Local Government TV

Friday, November 11, 2022

WFMZ: Easton Official Charged With Pokemon Threats

WFMZ reports that Easton's Director of Public Works, David Hopkins, has been charged with two counts of terrorist threats and two counts of harassment after two preteen boys assailed him with, of all things, a Pokemon card. I was unaware they were so infuriating. He apparently chased after them and threatened one of them, who was cornered inside Lafayette's gym. 

He's facing misdemeanor charges, but had the good sense to hire prominent criminal defense lawyer Vic Scomilio. Hopkins' lawyer is hopeful he can reach an "amicable" resolution. 

Sounds like somebody needs one of those anger management classes.  

26 comments:

  1. That’s what happens when you let a bully run rampage on city employees for 19 years. I blame the city of Easton officials. They know how he is but my heart still goes out to his family

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    1. I agree. I worked in two different departments and both of my top supervisors have now been arrested!! At least my taxes will not be used to defend Dave.

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  2. This sounds...peculiar

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  3. They aught to bring back the ducking stool and set It up on Getters Island to punish miscreants like Tompkins publicly make it coincide with something like Bacon Or Garlic fest and have Mayor Sal work the action perhaps in a Cristobal Columbus type costume it would draw legions

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  4. Doesn’t sound good for one of King Panto’s minions,

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  5. If he has anger management problems then it rubbed off of Mayor Panto. He should be suspended until the case is cleared. If Hopkins looses his job I am sure Sal will get him in at the Bridge Commission just like Sal did for his brother.

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  6. I've known and dealt with Dave for a few years and have never seen any indication of any anger issues. I'll need to hear his & Vic's stories before I have an opinion.

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  7. You know, this guilty until proven innocent thing you have going on here is really sick. Do any of you actually even know Dave? Well, I do and not only is he an amazing Director in the City, he is one of the finest people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. The fact is, this is a case where the kids arent telling the truth and the parents think they are little angels. The harassment was the other way around...

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    1. Sure the police investigate the DA charges and everyone is wrong but Davey

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    2. I find the comment made by his lawyer very interesting, “looking for an amicable resolution with commonwealth in this matter”. He never said my client is innocent and will fight to clear his name.

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  8. As a side note, all the department heads in Easton City Hall serve "at the pleasure of the mayor". When a new mayor takes office he/she can replace any/all department heads. So if Sal decides not to run again next year all his department heads then better update their resumes just incase they get the boot at the end of 2023.And it does not matter if they have been with the city 20 weeks or 20 years. You go in with politics and go out with politics. It has happened many times in the past.

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    1. Some truth to that however Mr Hopkins was hired under former Mayor Mitman. And retained by King Panto, as was fire Chief Bast until he followed the building code and fire codes regarding fire safety at the new city hall and then retired suddenly because he didn’t follow the direction of the King

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    2. A lot of good workers resigned because of Mr Hopkins and Mayor Panto. But yet they promote the ones that don’t know their job but got promoted because of kissing up and squealing on other workers. And the unions are in it as well. Very sad. Government at its best. The system is broken!!! But good to see EPD didn’t cover this up.

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    3. Ironically king Panto try’s to portray that both the police and fire departments love him but totally not true. he promoted Mike Krill to fire chief in order to keep him from running against him knowing he would retire at a chief’s salary. Hopkins should have been suspended, But won’t happen since he follows what ever the king wants

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  9. I have a big problem with character assassination. I have absolutely no idea if this played out as indicated, but I tend to think there is way more to the story than what has been released. I find it interesting the people who shoot guns, “victims” who don’t cooperate with police investigations, and minors who wreak havoc on communities (were the kids identified who assaulted the Lafayette employee?) are protected by anonymity, but a public servant, teacher, city official has his/her name sullied before the benefit of a trial. Innocent until proven guilty seems to be an endangered policy.

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  10. Two points here. First, Easton's Public Works Director is presumed innocent and is entitled to due process. Second, nobody, not even a Panto crony, is above the law. If a public servant, teacher or city official is even charged with a crime, the people should know.

    Reading between the lines of Vic Scomilio's statement, my guess is that the defendant will apply for ARD, take an anger management class or two, and this will go away. We'll never hear the other side except through anonymous comments.

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  11. In today’s world of spoiled and coddled snow flakes it’s no surprise the little punks bad mouthed Tompkins in his own turf than tucked tail and ran for cover ultimately tattling on someone who set them straight.

    Put these little devils in a certified lie detector scenario to validate their claims despicable little cretins always out for trouble on College hill caught some pelting vehicle with snowballs going down Knox chased em all the way to eddy side we need a sheriffs youth camp to reform the scourge

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  12. It’s not the College Hill kids. It’s the kids coming up on the hill from the public housing projects.

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  13. Ahhh - I see. Public housing, i.e. poor people, probably minorities too. They might even be black! How dare they show a Pokemon card to anyone! They should remain in their hovels or be confined to the west ward. The College Hill kids are little angels and are too sophisticated for Pokemon. They walk around with chess pieces.

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  14. Does it really matter where these kids came from!!! They are children period, and he is grow man no to mention a public official who should act like one,

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  15. "He stated, 'take this as a lesson. If I find you or that (expletive) again, I will hunt you down and have my son bash your skulls in,' to which obviously frightened this juvenile,"

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  16. Bernie Goetz, Curtis Sliwa, Charles Bronson, David Hopkins, a list of men brave enough to stand up to the wayward youth terrorizing a community with impunity. Dave will mount. A vigorous defense time to start a College Hill chapter of the Guardian Angels only way to put these street urchins in check

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  17. Hopkins being a Panto toady makes sense with these revelations ,Sal supports lionizing a genocidal slave trader with a tacky statue that WILL FALL soon enough. David needs to have his bond revoked and sent to ad seg where he can’t hurt anyone else

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  18. It seems to me that Mr Hopkins tried to do the right thing by bringing it to a parents attention. He obviously wanted to handle this appropriately, and deal with the issue of these kids, who I bet have done similar offenses before. If he was at any fault, why would he approach a parent? Unfortunately nowadays there are parents who let their kids run wild and take the attitude “not my child”. Why would these “kids” be running all over college hill~~instead of in their own neighborhoods? I bet the parents had no idea where they even were. It sounds like there is so much more to this story. Don’t assume just because of the kids ages they were not up to mischief. It sounds like they may have done alot more than “show a stranger a pokemon card”. Let’s be real here. Maybe instead of trying to crucify an innocent man, the kids and their parents should be brought before a judge and see what they have to say. Thank you.

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  19. First were in any article does it say where these kids lived? Why is it presumed they live off the hill.

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    1. Suddenly the BB King song about a hill is in my head

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