Defendant seeks lower sentence in hit-run that killed boy, 9
EASTON, PA. >> A man sentenced to four to 10 years in the hit-and-run death of a 9-year-old boy is asking an eastern Pennsylvania judge to reconsider his sentence.
A defense motion filed Monday calls the Northampton County sentence imposed earlier this month on 23-year-old Royce Atkins “extremely lengthy” and “manifestly unreasonable.”
Atkins was convicted in the November 2015 death in Hanover Township of Darious Condash, who was struck as he reached to pick up a piece of candy he had dropped. During sentencing, Judge Michael Koury Jr. called the defendant “heartless.”
Defense attorney Philip Lauer argued that Koury was improperly swayed by recordings in which Akins called the case “blown out of proportion” and said he had no remorse for the boy’s family. Laurier said the remarks stemmed from anger and frustration.
Police still probing brawl at high school hockey game
HATFIELD >> Police in suburban Philadelphia are still investigating a brawl on the ice at a high school hockey game last week.
The Delaware County Daily Times reports that Thursday night’s fight involving several members from Ridley and Central Bucks West occurred with seven minutes to go.
Central Bucks West was leading the Flyers Cup AA quarterfinal game, 7-1. The game was ended with that score, resulting in a Ridley forfeit. The fights spilled over into the crowd. Two Central Bucks West players reported injuries. No charges were immediately filed.
Police said Friday they were still investigating and asked anyone with information or video to call.
Ridley ice hockey club president Mike Dolan apologized in a statement, calling some players’ actions “indefensible” and saying officials are “disgusted and appalled.”
Poop scooper gets probation for using fake IDs, badges
PITTSBURGH >> A western Pennsylvania man whose company scoops up pet poop has been placed on probation for two years and fined $500 for buying fake Secret Service identification cards and badges online from China to impress women on a dating site.
A federal judge in Pittsburgh imposed the sentence Monday on 54-yearold Christopher Diiorio of Greensburg, who pleaded guilty in November to a count of fraudulently using an official seal.
He acknowledged the other behavior alleged by federal prosecutors, including flashing an ID card during a traffic stop and trying to use a Secret Service badge to get a government rate for a hotel room.
Prosecution, defense say man to enter plea in wife’s death
MIDDLBURG >> Prosecution and defense attorneys say an elderly central Pennsylvania man has agreed to enter a guilty plea next month in the beating death of his wife with a hammer.
PennLive.com reported that Snyder County District Attorney Michael Piecuch and defense attorney David Noon on Monday confirmed the decision by 76-year-old Kenneth Wochley. Neither would comment on details of the plea agreement for which a hearing is scheduled April 27 in county court.
Authorities said a neighbor found the body of 75-year-old Anne Wochley in April 2 at the couple’s Selinsgrove home, and police found a bloody claw hammer, pill bottles and a glass. Prosecutors said she was struck more than two dozen times.
Noon earlier told the judge that his client suffered a stroke prior to the slaying.
Deputies: Seeking man suspected of abducting estranged wife
TAMPA, FLA. >> Authorities in Florida say they’Re searching for a man suspected of kidnapping his estranged wife, who remains missing.
Witnesses told Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies they saw a screaming woman with her hands tied behind her back being forced into her SUV in a pharmacy parking lot Saturday night in Tampa.
Deputies said in a statement that 37-year-old Alisa Summers didn’t return home after going to visit 39-year-old Trevor Steven Summers to talk about their marriage. They are separated and have injunctions against each other.
Records show Trevor Summers pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in Philadelphia federal court last September. He is scheduled for sentencing Wednesday in Philadelphia.
Divorce attorney Steven Glaros tells the Tampa Bay Times that Alisa Summers “expressed lots of fear of her husband.”
Mother, son, 9, found dead with gunshots wounds in car
STROUDSBURG >> Authorities say a woman and her 9-year-old son were found dead with gunshot wounds in a car in eastern Pennsylvania.
Officials in Monroe County said police were called to a Stroud Township home just after 9:30 p.m. Sunday and found the bodies of Annia Robles and Ethan Robles.
The coroner’s office said both were pronounced dead at the scene. Autopsies are planned Wednesday to determine the cause and manner of death.
Police have not said whether anyone was being sought but described the shootings as “an isolated incident” with “no ongoing danger or threat.”
Superintendent Cosmas Curry of the Stroudsburg Area School District said Ethan Robles was a third grader at Chipperfield Elementary School, where grief counselors were being provided for students and staff.
This story has been corrected to note that the woman’s first name is Annia rather than Anni.
Jury: PennDOT owes cyclist, wife $5.4M over brain injuries
MEDIA >> A jury says the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation should pay $5.4 million to a man who suffered severe brain injuries when his bicycle crashed on a bridge that was in disrepair.
The Delaware County Daily Times reports the jury ruled Wednesday in favor of 63-year-old David Carletti.
The jury awarded Carletti $2.4 million for lost wages and medical expenses and $2 million for future suffering. His wife, Brenda, received $1 million for loss of consortium.
The Boothwyn man was riding over trolley tracks near the Springfield Mall when he hit a bump in May 2012 that was caused by road crews who had patched a damaged section of the bridge.
State attorneys had argued PennDOT was immune, but the jury disagreed because the state had notice of the dangerous conditions.
Woman killed by bus she planned to take to flower show
VINELAND, N.J. >> A New Jersey woman walking toward a tour bus headed for the Philadelphia Flower Show was killed after she was struck by the vehicle and pinned underneath.
The Daily Journal reports it happened around 8:30 a.m. on Monday in the parking lot of a nursing home in Vineland.
Police say people traveling to the event were meeting there to be picked up.
A preliminary investigation indicates Myriam Roman, of Vineland, was pinned underneath the front passenger tire.
An investigation remains ongoing.
Ex-care provider balks at plea agreement
WILKES-BARRE >> A former home care provider accused of sexual assault of a patient has declined to enter a plea as part of an agreement with prosecutors in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Fifty-four-year-old Andrew Dula III of Shickshinny is charged in Luzerne County with felony institutional sexual assault of a 36-year-old woman who has spastic cerebral palsy and is developmentally disabled.
The (Wilkes-Barre) Citizens’ Voice reports that during a hearing Monday, defense attorney Al Flora Jr. questioned whether prosecutors could provide evidence of a crime without a statement his client gave police.
Assistant District Attorney Nancy Violi said that Dula could face more counts if he rejects the plea deal. Luzerne County Judge David Lupas said he wanted to look at the case law and asked attorneys to submit motions.
Neighbors die in same building, coroner calls it coincidence
LANCASTER >> A coroner says the deaths of two men in separate apartments in the same Pennsylvania building are a coincidence, and nothing more.
Lancaster police say one man was found dead about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. When a tenant went down the hall to check on a neighbor, that man was found dead, too.
The men lived on the third floor of the same building, where there are four apartments. Investigators initially suspected carbon monoxide poisoning and evacuated the building, but tests for the gas were negative.
Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamontoni says autopsies show 62-year-old James Mackey and 53-year-old Donald Miller Sr. died of natural causes.
The coroner didn’t say which man died first, but he says they died days apart and that both had “multiple medical problems.”
Philly police find autistic teen with bound feet out in cold
PHILADELPHIA >> Philadelphia police say they’Re investigating how a 16-yearold boy with autism wound up left out in the cold with his feet bound.
Police were called about 11 a.m. Sunday and found the boy outside in freezing temperatures between two row homes. The boy had bruises on his wrists, possibly from being bound, and his feet still were bound together when he was found.
The boy was taken to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in stable condition.
Police haven’t released his name or said whether they have any clues as to who might have mistreated the boy.
Man in motorized wheelchair struck and killed by car
NEW SALEM BOROUGH >> Authorities say a man in a motorized wheelchair has been struck and killed while crossing a road in York County.
York County Coroner Pam Gray says the man died at York Hospital around 9:20 p.m. Sunday after the accident in New Salem Borough.
Gay says the driver of the car that hit the unidentified man was cooperating with police.