MONROE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — State police say they arrested and charged a Monroe County attorney for giving his client a hint that a search warrant would be executed at his home.
According to Pennsylvania State Police, investigators discovered an attorney, William Austin Watkins, of Tobyhanna, told his client confidential information, breaching his official duty.
The criminal complaint reports Watkins claimed to have overheard a conversation between troopers that a search warrant was going to be executed and firearms were involved.
Watkins believed the search warrant troopers spoke of could involve his client, and informed him to "not commit crimes," police stated. As stated in the affidavit, Watkins admitted that he told his client that he "needed to get rid of any firearms."
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Police said Watkins also stated that he was aware that his client had neighbors who would "be capable of storing a firearm on his behalf."
Troopers informed Watkins that "due to the nature of his client's suspected involvement in his wife's death, his disclosure could have resulted in an ambush on law enforcement," according to court documents.
Watkins was formally charged with obstructing governmental operations and tampering with/fabricating physical evidence.
