Over the course of two omnibus pretrial hearings, two law enforcement officials acknowledged that they did not follow proper police procedure when pinging the locations of Kenneth Michaels’ telephone.

Michaels, 67, is charged in the August 2023 shooting death of his former business partner and brother-in-law, John Roskowski, just steps inside the business at which Michaels remains CEO, Cable Services, 2113 Marydale Ave. in Old Lycoming Township.

Michaels does not deny shooting Roskowski, but said he did so out of fear for his life, after Roskowski became enraged that he was no longer allowed on company property.

During a July omnibus pretrial hearing, county detective Stephen Sorage testified that he lacked a court order, search warrant or approval from the District Attorney to ping the phone of Michaels, who was discovered missing from his home when officers arrived to take him into custody.

Placing a ping on Michaels’ phone, it was learned that Michaels was on vacation in Cape May, New Jersey. It is Michael’s contention that law enforcement officials were aware Michaels would be at that location.

At a November 2023 bail hearing, Lycoming Regional Police Detective Justin Segura testified that Michaels had been cooperative throughout the investigation, that then-Lycoming Regional Police Captain Christopher Kriner and himself were aware of Michaels’ summer home in Cape May, and that no travel restriction had been placed on him.

Sorage testified that he believed there were pressing circumstances that allowed him to make the ping request.

Among them were concerns that Michaels might self-harm, he said at the July hearing, recounting how during one of their interactions, Michaels became emotional and “choked up.”

“You’re not going to do anything stupid,” Sorage asked Michaels, who assured them he would not, according to Sorage’s testimony. “I knew it was not proper procedure,” he said.

Additionally, no discussions were held with Michaels or co-counsel at the time, James Clancy, regarding any self-surrender options.

During a second day of omnibus testimony Friday, Segura testified that he is aware that it is unconstitutional to “ping” someone’s cell phone without a search warrant or court order, according to PennLive.com.

Segura stated that pinging the phone was at the behest of Sorage, according to the news outlet.

“Because he was there,” Segura said, when asked why Michaels was taken into custody in New Jersey, rather than when he returned home.

Michaels remains incarcerated at the Lycoming County Prison, having been denied bail by Lycoming County Judge Ryan Tira.