May 28—HAZLE TWP. — A Hazle Township man admitted to stealing items from a storage unit because he was late paying fines, according to court records.

State police at Hazleton arrested Michael J. Tracy, 35, of Hardwood Road, when troopers spotted him in the act removing items from a storage unit at Axis Self-Storage on South Church Street at about 11:56 p.m. Thursday, court records say.

Troopers were patrolling the storage unit due to recent break-ins and spotted a Chevrolet HHR parked in front of a unit and Tracy standing outside, according to court records.

Tracy told troopers he was helping a friend move items.

Troopers noticed bolt cutters, a reciprocating saw and a large saw with a metal cutting blade inside the vehicle and a locked pad lock with no key on the ground, court records say.

Tracy admitted he was behind on fines and was being paid to steal items, according to court records.

State police said the metal locking hasp was freshly cut.

Found inside the vehicle was a glass smoking pipe, military gear, 10 Flak vests and ceramic body armor plates, and items taken from the storage unit, court records say.

Tracy was arraigned by District Judge Ferris Webby in Luzerne County Central Court on two counts of possessing instruments of crime, and one count each of burglary, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, unlawful body armor, theft, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving with a suspended license. He was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $25,000 bail.

One by one, they took the stage at the National Rifle Association's annual convention and denounced the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school across the state. (May 27)

Here’s what we know.

A Washington County state trooper is facing charges after being accused of DUI while on patrol. An open bottle of alcohol was also found on the passenger seat of his unit, investigators said.

STORY: Cruz said in a speech to the National Rifle Association that communities needed weapons to stay safe. "Taking away guns will not make them safer."Hernandez said, "Since they don't make themselves available for discourse, we have to make the time and confront them wherever we see them. And for me, that was last night at a restaurant.”Governor Gregg Abbott, a Republican and staunch gun rights proponent who addressed the meeting in a pre-recorded video, seized on apparent police lapses in Uvalde, telling a news conference later he was misled and "livid about what happened."Abbott denied newly enacted Texas gun laws, including a controversial measure removing licensing requirements for carrying a concealed weapon, had "any relevancy" to Tuesday's bloodshed. He suggested state lawmakers focus renewed attention on addressing mental illness.

Washington and the other residents argued that the city improperly withheld critical information about flood risks for years.

Enrique Tarrio was arrested in March and has pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy

Maybe this will make a dent in the problem…

He was sentenced to five consecutive life terms plus 60 years.

Police believe the propped-open door was used by the gunman to enter Robb Elementary School on Tuesday.

A delivery driver who crashed his tractor trailer at a Florida Publix on Thursday now faces multiple charges, according to the Haines City Police Department.

"Why did you come here to the convention to take blood money? Why, when 19 children died?" A former House candidate asked Cruz in the video.

The siblings will be required to serve 85% of their sentences before they’re eligible for parole, the DA's office said.

The family of a Washington County man who who was killed while mowing his lawn told Channel 11 what an amazing person he was.

Members voted 4-2 to fire former Walter Hill Elementary principal Helen Campbell, who was charged with criminal child abuse and endangerment.

Authorities previously said a school resource officer engaged with the gunman, but confirmed on Thursday that this did not happen.

The parents of an Ohio stepmom facing allegations she abused her 13-year-old stepson so severely authorities said he resembled a concentration camp victim have also been charged in the case after prosecutors said they too “recklessly tortured or cruelly abused the victim.” Armin and Susan Rodriguez are now facing charges of endangering children and complicity in the disturbing abuse case that has left the teen with a limp and suffering from intense pain and emotional trauma, WXIX-TV reports. Ham

Bill Clark/GettyThe pro-gun Republican congressman representing Uvalde, who has come under fire this week for dodging questions on gun control and for previously boasting about opposing gun legislation, claimed on Friday morning that he had received “new information” that school shooter Salvador Ramos was arrested four years ago for threatening to shoot up a school.But that claim is false, authorities confirmed Friday.“This wasn’t hearsay. I got this late last night: ‘The shooter was arrested ye

Miah Cerrillo told CNN she was able to make contact with a 911 dispatcher during the shooting and begged for help, saying "we're in trouble."

Women are being told to lookout for a man who’s vandalizing vehicles and then offering to help the women who are left stranded - unaware that the man offering the help actually caused the damage.

The suspects in the shootings at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school and a Buffalo, New York, supermarket were both just 18, authorities say, when they bought the weapons used in the attacks — too young to legally purchase alcohol or cigarettes, but old enough to arm themselves with assault weapons.