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Rumors Spread as Police Track Down Wanted Men in Honesdale

HONESDALE — A home invasion, an erroneous radio news report, and social media all led to some tense moments Tuesday morning in part of Wayne County. A New...

HONESDALE -- A home invasion, an erroneous radio news report, and social media all led to some tense moments Tuesday morning in part of Wayne County.

A Newswatch 16 viewer caught the moment police converged on a home in Honesdale and took David Jacques into custody.

Jacques and another man were wanted for a break-in and robbery at Briarwood Apartments on Church Street.

A few hours earlier, word quickly spread that borough police, state police, and sheriffs were searching for them throughout the downtown.

"I just saw one of my friends posted there were armed gunmen in Honesdale. It was a screenshot from a news website so I showed my stepmom," said Julia Huber.

That posting created lots of concern for folks just going about their day in Honesdale.

"I kind of panicked a little bit because my son works downtown and I know there's kids out at the Cooperage for lunch, first thing I thought of," said Tisha Huber.

Jacquez and William Cooper were charged with burglary and robbery and taken to jail but not before creating some tense moments.

Alex Johnson was running errands when she heard what was supposedly going on.

"Their doors were locked. She said, 'Quick, get in here!' I was really shocked because it was surprising for Honesdale."

At the time, there were a few dozen kids at the Cooperage Project on Main Street for a free lunch.

"We had the doors locked, weren't letting anybody leave until we got a text the school lockdown was over," said Johnson.

The panic was the result of an alleged break-in over drugs and a whole lot of misinformation shared across social media and word of mouth.

"Don't just assume that everything's correct," advised Tisha Huber.

"Sometimes they don't have full information, hard to know if you have the right information or not," added Johnson.

Both men are now behind bars in Wayne County.

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