Defense filed the motion Wednesday night. Judge Edwards granted it the same day. No new court date has been set.

HONESDALE — Lucas Aron Gartrell won’t face a judge this week.

The 26-year-old Lake Ariel man accused of murdering Hideout security officer José Alberto Duran Jr. and shooting his own parents was scheduled for formal arraignment Thursday morning at the Wayne County Courthouse. That hearing didn’t happen.

Public Defender Steven Erik Burlein filed a motion for continuance on Wednesday, December 3 — less than 18 hours before the 9 a.m. proceeding. Judge Janine Edwards granted it the same day. Court records don’t specify why.

No new arraignment date has been scheduled.

Gartrell has now been locked up at Wayne County Correctional Facility for 67 days. He faces 14 criminal charges, including first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer — which carries either the death penalty or mandatory life without parole under Pennsylvania law.

District Attorney A.G. Howell’s office has not announced whether it will seek death.

He Allegedly Took the Officer’s Gun

The charges filed against Gartrell tell a disturbing story that has grown darker since his arrest.

Beyond the homicide and attempted homicide counts, prosecutors added a theft charge: Gartrell allegedly took Officer Duran’s firearm after shooting him multiple times.

They also added a prohibited offensive weapons charge. When troopers searched his residence at 445 Lakewood Drive and inventoried what he was carrying when captured, they found an arsenal — multiple firearms, swords, knives, and daggers.

The full charge list includes criminal homicide, first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, two counts of attempted criminal homicide, five counts of aggravated assault at various degrees, assault of a law enforcement officer with firearm discharged, theft, flight to avoid apprehension, fleeing police, and the weapons charge.

September 28: What the Criminal Complaint Says

Around 3 p.m. that Sunday, Robert and Lisa Gartrell drove to their son’s home in The Hideout’s Salem Township section. They hadn’t heard from him in a while. They were worried about his mental health.

What followed was captured on 911 recordings.

“It was my son, he was trying to shoot my wife,” Robert Gartrell can be heard saying in the background of a neighbor’s emergency call, bleeding in Barbara Boyle’s driveway on the 400 block of Lakewood Drive.

On a separate call, Lisa Gartrell — shot in the shoulder and chest, hiding behind a rock on Marco Dadamo’s property — identified her son: “It was my son Lucas Aron Gartrell, he’s bipolar.”

Dadamo grabbed his gun, ran outside, and saw Gartrell approaching his wounded mother with a rifle. When Dadamo announced he was armed, Gartrell turned and ran.

But not before Boyle witnessed him shoot Officer Duran.

The 55-year-old public safety officer, a six-year Marine Corps Reserve veteran, was responding to the active shooter call. The Wayne County Coroner’s Office determined he died from multiple gunshot wounds. He left behind a wife, Tinesha, and three children.

Gartrell fled on a motorized bike wearing tactical gear — gray leather jacket, brown tactical boots, carrying a backpack and rifle. State Police Sergeant Michael Felsman spotted him at The Hideout’s north gate around 4:15 p.m. and gave chase.

Five minutes later, Gartrell crashed into pine trees on Miller Road. Troopers found ammunition magazines scattered on the ground, a handgun in his waistband, multiple knives on his person.

When asked about the rifle, Gartrell told troopers he panicked — it wouldn’t fit in his backpack, so he dumped it somewhere in his house.

He was in cuffs by 4:20 p.m.

No Motive, No Timeline

Sixty-seven days later, authorities still haven’t publicly explained what triggered the violence.

The criminal complaint references Gartrell’s mental health repeatedly — his mother’s statement about bipolar disorder, his father telling neighbors his son “has mental issues.” But no motive has been disclosed.

And now, with the arraignment delayed, there’s no scheduled court date on the horizon.

Gartrell remains at Wayne County Correctional Facility. Bail was denied the night of his arrest and hasn’t been revisited.

His parents survived. Both underwent surgery at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton and were listed in stable condition.

The case continues.

The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.