A Plymouth man is behind bars after police say they found him in a bedroom with an infant following an early morning disturbance fueled by suspected drug use. Scott Joseph Junker now faces charges including child endangerment, terroristic threats, and simple assault after officers responded to a residence on Franklin Street just after 5:30 a.m. on Sunday.
According to court records cited by the Times Leader, Junker may have used methamphetamine or psychedelic mushrooms before police arrived at the home. A woman inside the house told officers that Junker was under the influence of drugs, and police say they found him doing karate moves in the kitchen and rolling around on the floor before locating him in a bedroom with an infant. Plymouth police arrested him on the child endangerment charge shortly after.
The disturbance reportedly escalated before officers arrived. Court records indicate Junker slapped a woman in the face during the incident, leading to the two simple assault counts he now faces alongside a single count of harassment and terroristic threats.
Charges Carry Years of Potential Prison Time
Junker's most serious charge, child endangerment, is typically graded as a first-degree misdemeanor under Pennsylvania law and carries up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to The McShane Firm. That charge can escalate to a third-degree felony punishable by up to seven years if prosecutors prove a course of conduct or pattern of endangerment.
The terroristic threats charge he faces is defined under state law as communicating a direct or indirect threat to commit a crime of violence with intent to terrorize another person, and it does not require that the person had the physical ability to carry out the threat, according to DiCindio Law. That offense is also graded as a first-degree misdemeanor, with a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. His two simple assault counts, meanwhile, are generally classified as second-degree misdemeanors under Pennsylvania statute, carrying up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine each, per Sklarosky Law.
Infant Placed in County Protective Custody
Following the arrest, Luzerne County Children, Youth and Families took the infant into protective custody, per court records. Under Pennsylvania's Child Protective Services Law, county agencies hold statutory authority to assume emergency custody of children when law enforcement identifies immediate safety risks inside a home, according to state records maintained by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The case adds to a broader pattern seen across the state. Data released by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services in August 2025 shows county child protective agencies investigated 41,070 reports of suspected child abuse and neglect statewide during 2024. More recent child welfare reporting from the department, published in February 2026, found that substance use — primarily involving opioids and illicit drugs — was present in more than half of critical child welfare incidents across Pennsylvania, including fatalities and near-fatalities.
Bail Set at $250,000, Hearing Pending
Junker was arraigned Monday before District Judge Donald Whittaker in Nanticoke, who set bail at $250,000. Unable to post that amount, he was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in Wilkes-Barre to await further court proceedings.
Plymouth Borough sits along the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County's Wyoming Valley, roughly four miles west of Wilkes-Barre. It remains unclear when Junker's preliminary hearing will be scheduled, whether his bail conditions could be modified, or what substance testing will ultimately confirm was involved in the incident. The status of the child's ongoing custody placement with county caseworkers has also not been detailed in court records reviewed so far.
The case follows other recent child endangerment prosecutions in the region. Hoodline previously reported on a Plymouth-area mauling case tied to narcotics charges, as well as a separate Luzerne County case in which prosecutors pursued the death penalty in a Drums teenager's torture killing.
