On November 9th, 2021 around 0800 hours, Corporal Hayes of the Catawissa Borough Police Department received a report of two suspicious males in a truck parked in a handicap spot of the Weis parking lot.

Corporal Hayes observed the males sitting in the truck with their heads down. The truck and its occupants matched a description given by a witness of a recent nearby burglary.

The driver was identified as Jared Hoffman and the passenger gave officers the name “Jerry Towers”.

Minutes later, the passenger jumped out and began running through the parking lot towards Main Street. A foot pursuit was then initiated. After the passenger started resisting officers, he was placed in custody.

The passenger ran from officers because he gave a fake name and had active warrants out of Columbia and Snyder County. The passenger was then identified as Gerald Wetzel.

Corporal Hayes recovered three knives from Wetzel. Wetzel has a knife in each pocket and one hanging from a shoe lace around his neck. A glasses case containing a small amount of meth, heroin, three needles and other drug paraphernalia were found on Wetzel during search incident to arrest. Wetzel is being held in Columbia County Prison for the active warrants and other pending charges by The Catawissa Borough Police Department.

 All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law

If you have any information regarding this incident or any other incident, contact the Catawissa Borough Police Department at 570-356-7102 or the non-emergency number at 570-784-6300