A U.S. Postal Service employee threatened to kill his manager who asked for a doctor’s note after multiple absences, police said.
At about 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Quiana Harris called John Lepka regarding the need for the note.
Lepka, an employee at the post office on Stafford Avenue in Scranton, began making threats against James Loughney, another manager, while on the phone with Harris.
Lepka said Loughney couldn’t interfere with “my kids or my money.”
Harris told officers that Lepka said he was coming to the post office in two hours to kill Loughney. Lepka told Harris he was “packing,” indicating he possessed a firearm.
Officers speaking with Loughney noted that he was extremely upset.
Loughney was able to track Lepka in his Postal Service truck and determined he was at the post office in Taylor.
Taylor and Scranton police officers responded and took Lepka into custody. He faces misdemeanor charges of harassment and making terroristic threats.
Lepka, 39, of 107 White Birch Parkway, Lake Ariel, was arraigned Friday afternoon before District Judge Paul Ware.
He remains in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 29.