By James Halpin
The Citizens’ Voice
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — The Luzerne County Correctional Facility inmate seeking a salary for his time behind bars had his lawsuit against the district attorney’s office dismissed, with a federal judge calling his claims frivolous.
Kentlin Hopkins, 44, has been jailed since his arrest Nov. 10 for allegedly exposing himself to a woman at the Luzerne County Adult Probation and Parole Department. Last month, he filed the federal lawsuit alleging prosecutors put his life in danger by identifying him as a possible witness against shooting suspects Trevor Forest Whitaker, 27, of Brooklyn, New York, and Jamal Alford, 25, of Pittston.
Both men are awaiting trial on aggravated assault charges in a notorious Sherman Hills shooting in August 2013 that injured two children, ages 2 and 5. Both children survived.
In his lawsuit, Hopkins alleged he was in “immediate danger” and that as a result, he should be paid $150, retroactive to Nov. 10.
U.S. District Judge Richard P. Conaboy on Monday dismissed the lawsuit as frivolous, saying the complaint is “based on an indisputably meritless legal theory.”
Hopkins remains jailed on charges of indecent exposure, open lewdness and disorderly conduct with bail set at $30,000.