National Night Out Tuesday August 2

Everyone is welcome to attend the 4th Annual National Night Out event on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Glatfelter Memorial Field. The Borough will have a recycling booth with free items for the kids.

Candidate criticizes borough council appointment process

Columbian Joe Nikolaus was one of several candidates to run unsuccessfully for recently vacated council seats.  Nikolaus offered the following assessment of the process and of council: 

Columbia Borough not cowed by lawyers

In a recent letter to the editor to LNP, Columbia Borough Manager Greg Sahd responded to a recent article that suggested the borough was cowed by LNP's lawyers.

Sahd stated: "Columbia is a heritage-rich yet financially poor community. We believe in providing our community with every opportunity to tell us how to spend its hard-earned money. And it did. By a margin of nearly 3 to 1, citizens asked Columbia Borough Council to continue advertising with LNP, even though it cost them and fellow taxpayers twice as much. We respect our citizens’ wishes.

We stayed with LNP not because of your Philadelphia lawyers’ attempt to intimidate us, but only because of the respect we have for the voices of Columbia’s citizens whom we ultimately serve."

The full text of the letter is HERE.

The original article is HERE.

Shooting picked up by pro-gun site - and more info

Friday morning's shooting incident in Columbia in which two teens shot at police officers has been picked up by an online publication titled Bearing Arms, which is apparently affiliated with the National Rifle Association.  The article's pro-gun slant unfortunately devolves into a slam against the press for creating a culture that puts police lives in danger.

The article states, in part: "This attempted assassination of Columbia, PA police is being largely ignored by a mainstream media attempting to dodge responsibility for the officers they’ve put at risk by crafting anti-police narratives . . ."

The complete article is HERE.

The following information is from the Columbia Borough Police Department's Crimewatch page:

 

Marquell Robert Rentas

Marquell Robert Rentas, 17 of Columbia as an adult with the following charges after an incident on 07-29-16.

Attempted Criminal Homicide of Law Enforcement Officer
Conspiracy to commit Criminal Homicide of Law Enforcement Officer
Aggravated Assault
Assault of Law Enforcement Officer
Possession of Firearm by Minor
Recklessly Endangering Another Person

Case Number:
3312107-29-16
Arrest Date:
Friday, July 29, 2016

Charges:
Criminal Attempt at Criminal Homicide of Law Enforcement Officer
Aggravated Assault
Assault of Law Enforcement Officer
Possession of Firearm by Minor
Recklessly Endangering another Person

Source:
Columbia Borough Police Department

Trenton Michael Nace

Trenton Michael Nace, 18 of Columbia was charged with the following after an incident that occurred on 07-29-16 at approx. 3:25AM.

Attempted Criminal Homicide
Conspiracy to commit Criminal Homicide of Law Enforcement Officer
Aggravated Assault
Assault of Law Enforcement Officer
Recklessly Endangering Another Person

Case Number:
33121-07-29-16
Arrest Date:
Friday, July 29, 2016

Charges:
Attempted Homicide of Police Officer
Aggravated Assault
Assault of Law Enforcement Officer
Recklessly Endangering another Person

Source:
Columbia Borough Police Department

On Friday morning, Columbia Spy twice observed Trenton Nace being allowed outside behind the Columbia Police Station for a "smoke break," each time accompanied by an officer. Both times, Nace behaved defiantly toward members of the press, who were standing at a nearby parking lot.

River Park to be closed all day Monday August 8

Charged shooter Marquell Rentas reportedly part of previous local controversy

Marquell Rentas, who is currently facing multiple charges resulting from Friday morning's shooting incident on Bethel Street, was also involved in last summer's Confederate flag controversy in Columbia.

Multiple sources allege that the teen waving a flag in THIS VIDEO in an LNP article is Rentas.

A source tells Columbia Spy that this photo from last summer's protest in Columbia is Rentas:

Columbia Spy covered the protest HERE.

More recently, a reader submitted the following photos allegedly showing Rentas and Trenton Nace, who was also charged in the shooting, apparently trying to set fire to plywood on the 300 block of Avenue H, behind the abandoned Hotel Locust building. The plywood displayed spray-painted racist graffiti.

The post that includes the photos shown above is found HERE.

A YouTube channel under the name "Marquell Rentas" features the video shown below:

Shooting suspects - Info on charges filed

Marquell Robert Rentas, 17, of 244 Walnut St., and Trenton Michael Nace, 18, of 116 Lancaster Ave., are charged with several counts of attempted homicide of a law-enforcement officer, aggravated assault, assault of a law-enforcement officer and several counts of conspiracy. Both were charged as adults.

Documents (affidavits, criminal complaints) detailing the charges can be accessed here:

Marquell Robert Rentas

Trenton Michael Nace

Additional Information