SHAMOKIN - A Shamokin man wanted on three bench warrants was taken into custody by police Wednesday afternoon, but he later left Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, where he had been taken to be treated for a heart condition.
Police Thursday were continuing their search for Shane Picarella, 22, whose last known address is 69 E. Independence St., Apt. A, Shamokin.
Picarella, who was wanted by Shamokin police on warrants for burglary, theft by unlawful taking and retail theft, was spotted at about 2 p.m. Wednesday by Special Officer I Robert Searls in an apartment building at 69 E. Independence St., which also formerly served as a laundromat.
Searls said he contacted Chief of Police Edward Griffiths, who, along with Patrolman Raymond Siko II, responded to the apartment building. After Searls summoned police, he observed Picarella walk out of the apartment building and enter a nearby business in the 100 block of East Independence Street.
After being taken into custody inside the business, Picarella was transported to Shamokin Police Station, where he was detained in a cell to await incarceration at Northumberland County Prison in Sunbury on the warrants. While at the station, Picarella complained of a heart condition, prompting police to summon AREA Services Ambulance personnel.
After treating Picarella at the station, emergency medical personnel transported Picarella to Geisinger, where he was undergoing medical treatment before allegedly escaping. Police, who were notified about Picarella's escape Wednesday evening, couldn't confirm how Picarella exited the hospital and fled from the area, but he remains at large.