Cops: Man jailed for cutting sappy tree that hit apartments


Save Story
Leer en espaΓ±ol

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PITTSTON, Pa. (AP) β€” Police say a Pennsylvania man who believed sap from a tree next door was ruining his car, chopped it down, causing the tree to crash into an apartment building he owns, damaging it so badly it had to be condemned.

Five others who lived in the building are now homeless.

Fifty-one-year-old Raymond Mazzarella has been in the Luzerne County jail on reckless endangerment and other charges since Monday following the Saturday incident in Pittston Township. WNEP-TV (http://bit.ly/2bCEL57 ) says he's also charged with aggravated assault after allegedly getting into a fight with a neighbor.

A township code official says the tree wasn't on Mazzarella's property, but its branches were hanging over his parking place.

Mazzarella doesn't have an attorney and faces a preliminary hearing Aug. 31.

Copyright Β© The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent Features stories

The Associated Press
    KSL.com Beyond Series

    KSL Weather Forecast

    KSL Weather Forecast
    Play button