WILKES-BARRE — Failure to follow procedures while on parole, a Wilkes-Barre man who admitted to using his half-brother’s identity to be released from the Luzerne County Correctional Facility nearly a year ago was ordered to complete his maximum sentence.
Billy Partington, 31, was released on parole by Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas on Oct. 28 while serving a prison sentence on an escape charge. Billy Partington pled guilty to escape when he used the identity of his half-brother, Drake Partington, while they were both jailed at the county correctional facility on Jan. 26, 2024, according to court records.
Bail had been posted for Drake Partington, 23, who was jailed on simple assault charges stemming from a fight at the Hanover Village Apartment Complex in Hanover Township at the time.
When corrections’ officers called “Partington” to be released, Billy Partington was taken from his cell and released, court records say.
When the error was discovered, Wilkes-Barre police captured Billy Partington on Jan. 31.
Lupas initially sentenced Billy Partington on July 31 to six-to-12 months after he pled guilty to escape.
Billy Partington was paroled with orders to report to the Salvation Army for housing.
The county’s probation department filed a violation report against Billy Partington on Nov. 18 alleging he failed to appear at the Salvation Army, failed to pay fines and failed to complete a mental health and drug and alcohol evaluations.
During a revocation hearing Monday, Billy Partington claimed his messages to his probation/parole officer went ignored and was never informed he had to report to the Salvation Army.
“There was no clear direction on where to go,” Billy Partington said.
Lupas displayed a court order that Billy Partington received when released on parole that directed him to the Salvation Army.
Lupas re-sentenced Billy Partington to the maximum sentence on the escape charge to Nov. 7, 2025.
The wrongly released half-brother in January 2024, was blamed on “human error,” according to a report by Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo.
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