Lewisburg — NorthcentralPA.com is reporting… A man seen prowling around a motel parking lot and rambling senselessly was having a drug-induced episode, police say. Landon Wortece Washington, 28, was eventually taken to the hospital for treatment and a mental health evaluation after being taken into custody at the Fairfield Inn on Hardwood Drive in East Buffalo Township last month. Officers were called to the motel on June 26 around 1:30 a.m. by employees who said a suspicious man was trying to enter cars in the parking lot, according to charges. The man, later identified as Washington, had come into the motel earlier, saying he was looking for his girlfriend, but he wasn’t making much sense, the employees told police.
They asked him to leave the property, but later spotted him outside in the parking lot, allegedly trying to open car doors of other guests. Buffalo Valley Regional Officer Mark Kuhns and Cpl. Travis Burrows drove to the motel and took up surveillance spots at either end of the lot. They watched as Washington tried to get in the front door of the motel, which the employees had locked, as well as the locked back door, arrest papers say. Just as Washington returned to the lot and tried entering another car, he spotted Burrows and dropped the backpack he was carrying, charges state. He began walking away, but was stopped before he could leave the parking lot.
Washington refused to identify himself, eventually telling police he didn’t have a name, but a search of the backpack turned up Washington’s identification. He reportedly fought as police took him into custody, then began yelling and thrashing inside the cruiser. He wasn’t making any sense and he appeared to be having a two-way conversation with himself that included a discussion on cryptocurrency and a sexually-explicit rant about his girlfriend, Kuhns said. Because Washington seemed to be in a drug-induced state, EMTs were called and police petitioned to have him held on a mental health commitment. Washington was taken to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, where staff had to sedate him to control his behavior, according to police. Washington was charged with defiant trespass, prowling, disorderly conduct, and public drunkenness. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 4 at 10 a.m. in front of District Judge Jeffrey Rowe.
