In Brief

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$2.348
Two days ago
2.344
A month ago
2.229
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2

WILKES-BARRE &ndash; Wright Township Supervisor Matthew Howton was sentenced Tuesday to six months probation on a disorderly conduct charge for an incident with a fast-food worker last year.
Howton, 40, was convicted of the charge by a jury after a September trial.
Wilkes-Barre police said Howton became enraged Dec. 23 when two Long John Silver&rsquo;s employees, Alan Stokes and Clinton Knickerbocker, told him he couldn&rsquo;t exit the restaurant&rsquo;s Kidder Street parking lot through an entrance.
Howton got out of his truck, police said, and told the two workers to &ldquo;Get the (expletive) out of the way.&rdquo;
Stokes ran toward the store to seek a manager&rsquo;s help. Howton grabbed Knickerbocker by the coat, police said, and said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll have your (expletive) job. Do you know who I am?&rdquo; Howton returned to the truck, which pushed Knickerbocker into Kidder Street, police said.
Howton has said he was upset, but only grabbed Knickerbocker and yelled at him.
The case went to trial but five charges were dropped or dismissed before the jury deliberated. And the jury, after deliberating for more than six hours, failed to reach a verdict on two others charges.
All charges were misdemeanors. Howton also works for the township&rsquo;s road crew.
WILKES-BARRE &ndash; Marlon Bayard, 20, of Wyoming Avenue in Exeter, was sentenced Tuesday to 18 to 36 months in prison plus one year probation on 17 criminal counts, including burglary and theft.
Exeter police said Bayard in October 2005 stole six guns from an Exeter home he was living in. 
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Hugh Mundy sentenced Bayard.
WILKES-BARRE &ndash; Miguel A. Abreu, 52, of West Fourth Street in Hazleton, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to killing two men.
Police charged Abreu in October with killing Jose Pacheco-Flores, 45, and Willy Rodriguez, 27, of New Jersey. Police found the two men dead inside a Mazda 626 at West Fourth Street and Lafayette Court in Hazleton.
Abreu was in Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas on Tuesday for his formal arraignment. He entered the not-guilty plea before Judge Joseph Augello. A trial date will now be set.
WILKES-BARRE &ndash; John Shea, 33, of Main Street in Edwardsville, was sentenced Tuesday to 2 &#189; to 5 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl.
Wilkes-Barre police said Shea assaulted the girl twice in 2005 in a residence on Parrish Street.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Conahan sentenced Shea on a single count of aggravated indecent assault.

Court Briefs