Mayor: Neston Heights Shooting Suspects Caught

A dispute over a video game caused Heights, Easton Mayor Sal Panto said Tuesday.

Panto mentioned this during a presentation to the Easton Area School Board; the mayor wants the board's support for the , which would benefit Neston Heights.

And while talking about the neighborhood, Panto acknowledged the shooting, and noted that it wasn't drug related.

"This was a domestic. Over a Wii game," he said, adding that all suspects involved in the shooting have been captured. 

Last month, police identified 19-year-old as the suspected shooter. It was not immdiately clear Tuesday whether Cosme was in prison. Two men were shot and wounded on March 25.  

Panto said the family involved in the shooting had been evicted. He maintained that Neston Heights is a vast improvement over its predecessor, the Delaware Terrace housing project.

"That project has completely changed that neighborhood," Panto said.

But Neston Heights could use the LERTA (Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance) program, which would provide new property tax assessments for the neighborhood, as well as other parts of the city. The new rate would be phased in over 10 years at 10 percent a year.

The hope is that with lower property taxes in Neston Heights, the neighborhood's developer will have an easier time selling homes. 

"Low-moderate income folks become 'not bankable' when the higher assessed figure hits,” Panto said last week. "Having taxes go up slowly will help them cope."

The mayor is hoping the school board will vote on the LERTA next week.