Jury acquits man in stabbing case with Wendy's colleague

Sept. 19—WILKES-BARRE — A Luzerne County jury acquitted a man of stabbing a co-worker during a fight outside Wendy's on Kidder Street in Wilkes-Barre in 2022.

The jury deliberated for 38 minutes late Thursday and found 54-year-old Marc Rivers not guilty on two counts of aggravated assault after a three-day trial before Judge David W. Lupas.

Wilkes-Barre police charged Rivers with stabbing Bradley Reese during a fight in the restaurant's parking lot on August 29, 2022.

Reese and his colleague Hailey Walsh waited for Rivers to confront him about the number of hours they were scheduled to work at Wendy's.

Rivers typically worked 45 hours, while Reese and Walsh worked 36 hours per week.

The altercation was recorded by Edward Giles, who accompanied Reese and Walsh to the parking lot.

Rivers testified in his own defense on Thursday, telling the jury that he typically closed the restaurant at 10:30 p.m. each night and walked several blocks to his residence on South Welles Street in Wilkes-Barre. Because he was out at night, Rivers said he carried knives in his pocket for protection.

Assistant District Attorneys Carl Frank and Gerry Scott, as well as Rivers' attorney John B. Pike, played Giles' video several times to the jury.

The video showed Reese and Walsh yelling at each other about the set working hours and about Rivers dating a co-worker who was ten years younger than her.

When Rivers called Walsh a derogatory name, Walsh began slapping Rivers, causing Reese to intervene in the fight.

Rivers said he pulled out a knife when Reese began choking him and Walsh hit him in the head.

“I said, 'I'm not going to let that guy (Reese) strangle me.' If I passed out, what would they do to me,” Rivers testified.

When Reese realized he had suffered two stab wounds to the chest, Rivers called 911, but not before reaching for Walsh with the knife again as she was attacking him.

Rivers said he placed three knives on the ground before police arrived at the scene.

Reese suffered two stab wounds that caused both lungs to collapse, Frank told the jury.

During closing arguments, Pike told the jury that Reese and Walsh waited for Rivers and had Giles record the confrontation. Pike noted to the jury that Reese and Walsh intended to fight Rivers because Reese was drunk and had taken off his glasses to start the fight.

“When Bradley choked Marc and Hailey hit him, that was the deciding factor for Marc. He pulled out the knife and stabbed him in self-defense,” Pike said. “Marc's actions were reasonable to stop the attack.”

“Bradley and Hailey behaved inappropriately that night,” Frank said. “The fact that we're here is because (Rivers) stabbed Bradley twice in the chest and both of his lungs collapsed.”