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WILKES-BARRE &#8212; An attempted double homicide trial that appeared to be back on track a day after one of the defendants defiantly rejected a plea deal was pushed back several weeks Tuesday with the emergence of a witness who prosecutors say heard the man&#8217;s vow to finish the job.Jury selection had been slated to resume Tuesday in Luzerne County Court for co-defendants Wandalee Balcacer and Tony &#8220;Hazard&#8221; Edwards, after Edwards on Monday <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/556615/interfaith-heights-shooting-suspect-refuses-plea-deal-headed-for-trial" target="_blank">flirted with accepting a plea deal</a> that would have sent him to prison for between 12&#189; to 25 years.Balcacer, 26, and Edwards, 29, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/491307/pair-accused-of-execution-style-shootings-heading-to-higher-court" target="_blank">face attempted homicide charges</a> in what police say were &#8220;execution-style&#8221; shootings of Sherry &#8220;Chyna&#8221; Rivera and Izhar &#8220;Izzy&#8221; Ramos-Ramirez last year in a hallway at the Interfaith Heights apartment complex in Wilkes-Barre. The shootings were allegedly motivated by a drug debt owed to Balcacer.Both victims survived point-blank gunshots to their heads.The Philadelphia-area man ultimately declined the prosecution&#8217;s offer, declaring to those in the gallery he instead wanted to &#8220;pick 12&#8221; jurors and take the case to trial.But Edwards&#8217; attorney, Luzerne County First Assistant Public Defender Demetrius Fannick, argued Tuesday morning before Judge David W. Lupas that a potential witness brought to his attention late Saturday evening created a conflict in that his office previously represented him.Fannick requested to preclude the testimony of William Trindle and for a new attorney to be appointed to replace him as Edwards&#8217; lawyer in light of the conflict of interest.An animated Lupas expressed frustration the trial appeared slated for a lengthy delay due to &#8220;11th hour issues.&#8221;&#8220;I understand things come up and things happen; it&#8217;s not a perfect system, but now we&#8217;re facing the prospect &#8230; the matter gets continued for God knows how long,&#8221; Lupas said, adding new information will likely continue to emerge the longer the trial is pushed back.Balcacer&#8217;s attorney, John I. McMahon Jr., argued his client has been ready to proceed to trial and asked that Lupas sever the cases so she could face trial alone. He said the situation was &#8220;extremely unfair&#8221; to Balacacer, who, along with Edwards, remains jailed in county prison on $500,000 bail.&#8220;Every time we&#8217;re ready to get this thing into a courtroom, this stuff keeps coming up,&#8221; McMahon said. &#8220;(A continuance) is going to take months. Meanwhile, my client is sitting in jail.&#8221;After a brief recess, the judge ruled that Trindle will remain as a commonwealth witness but said a county conflict counsel attorney would be appointed to replace Fannick as Edwards&#8217; court-appointed lawyer. The judge also denied McMahon&#8217;s motion, saying the cases <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/544643/judge-consolidates-cases-of-pair-accused-of-execution-style-shootings-at-interfaith-heights" target="_blank">had already been consolidated</a> and the pair should be tried together.&#8220;I hope everyone will be able to go on the next scheduled date,&#8221; Lupas said, noting a new trial date will be determined at a hearing schedule in the coming weeks.Prosecutors say Trindle&#8217;s testimony could prove key in their case.First Assistant District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said Edwards allegedly told Trindle, an inmate at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, he would &#8220;finish the job&#8221; if he got out of prison.Sanguedolce added he understood the urgency to proceed to trial, but in light of the issues raised Tuesday said he believed &#8220;it would be unfair to handicap the prosecution by exuding them.&#8221;&#8220;Now that we&#8217;ve gotten more evidence, we&#8217;d like to use it,&#8221; Sanguedolce said. &#8220;It&#8217;s strong; it&#8217;s powerful.&#8221;<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Joe Dolinskyjdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</shirttailMeta></div>

Trial of alleged Interfaith Heights shooters pushed back