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General Federation of Women’s Clubs - West Side attends Domestic Violence Vigil

Bronze markers stolen from veterans’ graves in Columbia County

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A Nanticoke woman may spend up to five years in state prison in the suffocation death of her 2&#189;-month-old son Jaxon Eckrote.</p><p>Tracey Ann Gonda, 42, was sentenced Monday in Luzerne County Court to serve 15 months to five years behind bars on one count each of endangering the welfare of a child and corruption of minors.</p><p>Gonda pleaded guilty to the charges, the former a felony and the latter a misdemeanor, at a hearing in September.</p><p>In an impassioned argument for a probationary sentence, Gonda&#8217;s attorney Philip Gelso highlighted the woman&#8217;s &#8220;mental collapse&#8221; in the wake of Jaxon&#8217;s death and the 21 months of therapy she has undergone after attempting suicide.</p><p>The attorney pointed out further that Gonda, in recognizing she was not fit to be a parent, had given up her rights as Jaxon&#8217;s legal guardian. She also made the &#8220;difficult&#8221; and &#8220;emotional&#8221; decision to testify against Jaxon&#8217;s father Corey Eckrote earlier this month, Gelso said.</p><p>Describing his client as &#8220;committed to recovery,&#8221; he added that Gonda &#8212; a self-admitted addict &#8212; has been in a rehabilitation center for drug and alcohol abuse, and also has been volunteering with a charity.</p><p>Gonda cried as she apologized to her children and family before Judge David W. Lupas.</p><p>Prior to announcing his sentence, Lupas commended the steps Gonda has taken and also her acceptance of responsibility.</p><p>&#8220;But with responsibility comes accountability,&#8221; Lupas said. &#8220;No sentence that this court imposes will bring back Jaxon.&#8221;</p><p>Although the district attorney&#8217;s office did not advocate for a particular sentence, Assistant District Attorney Jenny Roberts said she believes Lupas sent a &#8220;strong message&#8221; with his sentence.</p><p>She noted the judge had a wide range of sentencing options in the case, ranging from probation and house arrest to county or state prison time.</p><p>According to Gonda&#8217;s testimony at Eckrote&#8217;s trial, Gonda fell asleep in a recliner while holding Jaxon early on Feb. 14, 2014. Eckrote had taken the baby to her at about midnight.</p><p>Acting under the assumption that Eckrote had taken the baby from her while she slept, she returned the recliner to its upright position before going back to sleep in an upstairs bedroom.</p><p>Gonda returned to the living room in the morning to find Jaxon dead, his legs sticking out of the recliner she closed on him hours earlier.</p><p>She admitted in her testimony to drinking the night Jaxon died and to lying to police during the early stages of the investigation into the infant&#8217;s death, saying she provided false statements about how and where she found Jaxon&#8217;s body.</p><p>Gonda also admitted to using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during her pregnancy, causing Jaxon to be born with a cocaine dependency.</p><p>Despite court orders prohibiting Gonda from being alone with her children, prosecutors say, Eckrote repeatedly left them in the supervision of the often- intoxicated woman.</p><p>A jury on Nov. 4 found Eckrote, 50, guilty of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment after less than 30 minutes of deliberation.</p><p>Following the conviction, Lupas revoked the man&#8217;s bail pending sentencing, set for Dec. 18.</p><p>Eckrote faces up to 10 years behind bars for the manslaughter charge.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_jaxon_eckrote8.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Jaxon Eckrote </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_jaxon_eckrote8.jpg</photo0><caption0>Jaxon Eckrote </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL112415Gonda2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tracey Ann Gonda, 42, was sentenced Monday in Luzerne County Court to serve 15 months to five years behind bars on one count each of endangering the welfare of a child and corruption of minors. 11/24/2015 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL112415Gonda2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Tracey Ann Gonda, 42, was sentenced Monday in Luzerne County Court to serve 15 months to five years behind bars on one count each of endangering the welfare of a child and corruption of minors. 11/24/2015 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By James O&#8217;Malley</p><p>jomalley@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach James O&#8217;Malley at 570-991-6390 or on Twitter @TL_omalley.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Tracey Ann Gonda of Nanticoke sentenced to 15 to 60 months in son’s death