WILKES-BARRE — A 16-year-old boy who is facing adult charges for his involvement in a drive-by shooting that severely hurt a 14-year-old boy in Nanticoke will continue to be held at Lackawanna County Prison.
A hearing about where James Alberto Jr. will be held took place in front of Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Vough on Friday.
Vough asked Alberto if he is going to classes and being separated from adult prisoners. Alberto confirmed that he is attending classes and is kept away from older inmates at Lackawanna County Prison.
Assistant District Attorney Julian Truskowski mentioned that attempts to find a place for Alberto in a juvenile detention center have been unsuccessful.
Alberto has been at Lackawanna County Prison since being arrested by Pennsylvania State Police in Wilkes-Barre in September for the shooting that harmed another young person in the area of West Green and Maple streets, Nanticoke, on July 21, 2023.
According to court records, investigators say Alberto was a passenger in a stolen 2014 Hyundai Elantra allegedly driven by a 16-year-old boy from Wyoming Borough.
Court records state that Alberto leaned out of the car window and shot multiple times, hitting the victim in the head and ankle.
Investigators indicated in court records that they believe the 14-year-old boy was targeted in revenge because Alberto thought he had made disrespectful comments about a deceased baby.
Following the shooting, the Hyundai was set on fire in Plymouth.
Alberto faces charges of participating in a plan to commit criminal homicide, participating in a plan to commit aggravated assault, reckless burning, arson and theft.
