Plains Township man sentenced for spitting on police officer

Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.

WILKES-BARRE — By pleading guilty and accepting responsibility for spitting on a Plains Township police officer, Antonio Alberto Santiago benefited by not being sentenced to state prison.

Luzerne County Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr. sentenced Santiago, 36, of St. James Street, to nine-to-24 months at the county correctional facility on the charge aggravated harassment by prisoner. Santiago pled guilty to the charge May 2 when prosecutors withdrew charges of assault of a law enforcement officer and harassment.

Sklarosky noted Santiago’s “acceptance of responsibility” by pleading guilty avoided a state prison sentence.

Two Plains Township police officers responded to a domestic disturbance on St. James Street involving Santiago and another man on Jan. 10.

A records check revealed Santiago was wanted by the Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Department on a judge’s bench warrant.

As officers detained Santiago and transported him to the county correctional facility, he called an officer a vulgar name and threatened to spit, according to court records.

Santiago then spat that struck an officer in the face, court records say.

Santiago was also sentenced to one-year probation and was awarded 175 days time served.