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Kinston congregation prays around cross made from piece of the World Trade Center

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Clerk in gay-marriage fight will return to work as soon as Friday

<p>SUGARLOAF TWP. &#8212; State police allege that a man who had an affair with Samuel Vacante&#8217;s wife murdered Vacante in his Drums home, tried to clean up the crime scene, drove away with Vacante&#8217;s body in the victim&#8217;s own car and disposed of his body.</p><p>Eleazar Yisrael, 29, of Hazleton, was arraigned today by District Justice Daniel O&#8217;Donnell on charges of criminal homicide, robbery, burglary, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.</p><p>During the arraignment, the defendant continually recited from a document known as an affidavit of truth, which is a proclamation of sovereign citizenship.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not compelled to perform under any contract,&#8221; Yisrael repeated as O&#8217;Donnell attempted to proceed.</p><p>According to the FBI.gov website, a sovereign citizen is one who believes he or she is not answerable to any government authority.</p><p><strong>Wife alerted police</strong></p><p>An investigation began after the victim&#8217;s estranged wife, Lisa Vacante, called Butler Township police on Aug. 31 to report Vacante missing along with his white 2014 Kia Cadenza. An initial search showed firearms, knives, watches and personal belongings to be among items missing from Vacante&#8217;s home at 20 Coventry Lane.</p><p>In the garage of the residence, discarded gloves and rags, which smelled of bleach, were found along with a discharged .22-caliber shell casing.</p><p>Yisrael was arrested by state police on Sept. 3 following a series of events linking him to the scene of the crime.</p><p>Vacante&#8217;s vehicle was found on Sept. 2 on Eighth Street, near Manhattan Court, in Hazleton, approximately 574 feet from the defendant&#8217;s home. Officers reported the license plate had been removed, the keys missing and the vehicle identification number blacked out with marker.</p><p>Exercising a search warrant, police found blood evidence in the passenger and trunk areas of the car and fingerprints inside the vehicle, which were tested and found to be Yisrael&#8217;s. One of the prints was located on the inside of the license plate, which had been stored in the trunk.</p><p>A receipt found in the center console led police to Walmart on Lunger Drive in Bloomsberg, where they obtained surveillance footage leading them to another man who identified Yisrael and the victim&#8217;s vehicle.</p><p>Investigators found the missing items belonging to Vacante in the garage of the Berwick home of an acquaintance of Yisrael&#8217;s, accoridng to court papers.</p><p><strong>The investigation</strong></p><p>Luzerne County District Attorney Stephanie Salavantis held a news conference today and addressed other items found in the investigation after interviews led police to the Berwick residence of a third party.</p><p>&#8220;Numerous items including guns, knives, ammunition, watches, binoculars and a spent .22-caliber casing, among other items were recovered,&#8221; said Salavantis. &#8220;The majority of these items were positively identified by the victim&#8217;s family as belonging to him, and (family) confirmed that they were kept inside his house, primarily in his bedroom area. The .22-caliber casing was consistent in size and shape to the one found in the victim&#8217;s garage.&#8221;</p><p>A search warrant served on Yisrael&#8217;s residence at 33 W. Tenth St., Hazleton, uncovered the victim&#8217;s key fob as well as latex gloves that matched those found at the crime scene.</p><p>On Sept. 6, Vacante&#8217;s body was found in a wooded area in Penn Forrest Township, Carbon County, in the vicinity of the last discernible use of his cellphone. According to court documents, Yisrael&#8217;s former residence was less than 3,200 feet away from where the remains were discovered.</p><p>An autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr. Gary Ross determined the manner of Vacante&#8217;s death was a homicide by means of a gunshot wound to the back.</p><p>Butler Township police encountered Yisrael, walking in the direction of the victim&#8217;s home, on the evening that Vacante is thought to have gone missing. Officers reported being suspicious of his activity around 1:13 a.m. in a non-business district of the municipality but had to let him go after determining that he was not involved in criminal activity at the time.</p><p>According to court documents, Lisa Vacante had a romantic relationship with Yisrael for two years prior to Vacante&#8217;s murder and lived with Yisrael, for periods, at his Hazleton residence.</p><p>Salavantis said she could not comment on the establishment of motive, because the investigation is active.</p><p>Lt. Robert Bartal, of Pennsylvania State Police Troop N in Hazleton, said any speculation as to Lisa Vacante&#8217;s role in the crime would be inappropriate at this time, and she has been interviewed.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Eleazar-Yisrael-9-9-151.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Yisrael </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Eleazar-Yisrael-9-9-151.jpg</photo0><caption0>Yisrael </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ed Lewis</p><p>elewis@www.timesleader.com and Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Ed Lewis at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TLEdLewis. Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Hazleton man charged with homicide in shooting death of Samuel Vacante