A fight inside a Scranton pizza shop early on Oct. 31 ended with a Philadelphia man accused of kicking a police officer in the face, spitting at officers, and continuing to fight them all the way to headquarters. Khamir Jamal Wright, 20, is now charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest and obstructing the administration of law, and he remains in jail in lieu of $30,000 bail.
According to a criminal complaint cited by the Scranton Times-Tribune, the trouble started at CK’s Pizza at about 3 a.m. while Scranton police happened to be conducting building checks in the area. Officers reportedly found Wright yelling at other patrons inside the shop, and he attempted to punch one of them before police stepped in, the complaint states.
Officers brought Wright to the ground and handcuffed him, but the confrontation was far from over, per the complaint. As officers walked him toward a police vehicle, Wright allegedly kicked Officer Anthony Roberto in the face and spit at the officers escorting him.
Resistance Continued Through Transport and Booking
Once inside the police vehicle, Wright allegedly kicked the window several times, prompting officers to call for another vehicle to transport him to Scranton police headquarters, the complaint says. The fight reportedly didn’t end there either: Wright continued resisting and fighting officers during the transfer to the second vehicle.
At headquarters, the complaint alleges Wright kept fighting and ultimately spit in an officer’s eye. He remains held at Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $30,000 bail, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Nov. 10 before District Judge Joanne Corbett, the newspaper reported.
How Pennsylvania Law Defines the Charges
The resisting arrest charge against Wright falls under Pennsylvania’s Title 18, Section 5104, which makes it a second-degree misdemeanor for someone to intentionally prevent a public servant from making a lawful arrest or performing another duty by creating a substantial risk of bodily injury or by using force that requires substantial effort to overcome, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The obstructing-administration-of-law charge stems from Section 5101, which similarly makes it a second-degree misdemeanor to intentionally obstruct, impair or pervert the administration of law through force, violence or physical interference, per the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
This isn’t the only recent case in Scranton involving allegations that a suspect spit on an officer during an arrest. In a separate matter, Sydney Morgan Frazier was charged with felony assault after allegedly spitting on a city police officer during her arrest, though the Scranton Times-Tribune later reported that all charges against Frazier and Prince Barber were dropped on Oct. 22, 2025. That case and Wright’s are unrelated, and the earlier outcome does not indicate how Wright’s case will proceed.
Scranton police have also faced scrutiny over their own use of force. In a separate case, John Wright of Lackawanna County filed a federal civil lawsuit against the city and three officers, alleging they entered his home without a warrant and used excessive force during his arrest; the city has denied the allegations, asserting the officers’ actions were legal and necessary for public safety. No connection between that lawsuit and the pizza shop case has been reported.
No plea or response from Khamir Jamal Wright or his attorney has been reported, and the outcome of the Nov. 10 preliminary hearing remains to be seen.
