Man charged in Lake Carey shooting

BY ROBERT L. BAKER

A 25-year-old Bradford County man has been charged in the Saturday night fatal shooting at the Lake Carey Inn of 29-year-old Jerome Prawdzik Jr. of Pittston.

Joshua Allen Bass, of RR1, Box 124C, Sugar Run, was arraigned late Monday afternoon before Magisterial District Judge John Hovan and charged with criminal homicide, carrying firearms without a license and possession/delivery of a controlled substance, all felony counts.

According to a police  criminal complaint, Bass contacted the Tunkhannock barracks of the State Police Sunday night and agreed to voluntarily come in for an interview Monday morning.

Bass, a 2002 attendee of Elk Lake, told police that he had been house sitting for friends at their residence on SR 1003, Lake Carey.

He acknowledged being at the Lake Carey Inn on Saturday night during the time of the incident and that he was carrying a Smith & Wesson semi-automatic .45 caliber pistol that he took from the residence where he was house sitting.

According to the complaint, Bass admitted that he sold cocaine to Prawdzik for $50 and left the scene but returned to retrieve clothing left behind.

Upon his return, Bass encountered Prawdzik as well as acquaintances of the victim identified in the complaint as Nicholas Ostrowsky, Matthew Baldwin and  Andrew Miner.

It is stated in the complaint that Prawdzik and the acquaintances had left a party and walked to the Lake Carey Inn to purchase more beer.

The complaint says that when Bass returned to the Inn, Ostrowsky overheard Baldwin tell Bass that he wanted Prawdzik’s money back because Baldwin and others believed the cocaine was fake.

Prawdzik then came running out of the front door of the bar and over to Bass where Prawdzik is alleged to have placed Bass into a headlock/choke hold.

Ostrowsky told police that during the ensuing struggle he observed Bass remove a semi-automatic handgun from his waist band and pull the slide back to chamber the gun.

According to the complaint, Bass pointed the gun at Ostrowsky who fell to the ground.

Ostrowsky then observed Bass point the gun into Prawdzik’s abdomen and fire one shot.

The complaint says that Ostrowsky then observed Bass flee from the scene heading west on SR1003 over the bridge in the vicinity of Frank’s Marina where Ostrowsky lost sight of him.

According to the complaint, “Bass admitted that his finger was on the trigger and the gun went off and shot Prawdzik. He immediately got back to his feet and fled the scene.”

 Bass added that upon returning to the residence where he had been house sitting he returned the firearm from where he had initially obtained it which was underneath a pillow in the bedroom of the residence.

With Bass at his arraignment Monday afternoon were his parents.

Judge Hovan read Bass his rights and told him that he was innocent until proven guilty and that there is no bail allowed for a charge of criminal homicide.

Judge Hovan also acknowledged to Bass that if the charges were true, “You do not take a human life and not suffer the consequences. You have gotten yourself into a serious situation and I cannot imagine having a holiday weekend destroyed like this for so many people.”

Bass faces a preliminary hearing before Judge Hovan on Sept. 16.