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Letter to the Editor: Donald Trump should retire language about draining swamps; wetlands deserve better

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Chick-fil-A gives away sandwiches in anticipation of Thursday’s opening on Public Square

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The attorneys for a suspect in a vicious throat-slashing are challenging prosecutors&#8217; attempt to <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/596717/prosecutors-plan-to-use-throat-slashing-suspects-prior-criminal-record-at-trial" target="_blank">introduce the reputed drug dealer&#8217;s prior criminal record at trial</a>.</p><p>Nygee Jamal Taylor, 26, of Carbondale, and co-defendant Jerone Andre Moore, 33, of Wilkes-Barre, face attempted homicide, aggravated assault, kidnapping and conspiracy charges related to the violent 2014 abduction police say was sparked over a stolen cellphone. Their trial is slated to begin Nov. 29.</p><p>A third co-defendant, 22-year-old Chloe Amelia Issacs, of Wilkes-Barre, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/564251/woman-accused-of-kidnapping-assault-pleads-guilty-to-charges" target="_blank">pleaded guilty to unlawful restraint, simple assault, reckless endangerment and false imprisonment charges in July</a> for her role in the matter and is awaiting sentencing.</p><p>Attorneys Frank McCabe and Mary Deady say any reference to Taylor&#8217;s prior drug convictions are &#8220;irrelevant, inadmissible, and prejudicial, as it would be used for the sole purpose of showing the jury that (Taylor) is a bad guy.&#8221; Taylor pleaded guilty to such charges in at least three separate cases since 2010, court records show.</p><p>Prosecutors say Taylor&#8217;s prior record shows he had a motive for the crimes.</p><p>According to the affidavit, the trio kidnapped 22-year-old Dayna Williams from her Pittston home on Oct. 5, 2014, took her to a secluded area near Lake Aleeda in Bear Creek Township and slashed her throat. As the blade was put to her neck, Williams told investigators she heard a voice say, &#8220;Go deeper. You&#8217;re supposed to go deeper.&#8221;</p><p>Before she was taken to the area, the affidavit says, Williams was brutally beaten inside Isaac&#8217;s residence on North Hancock Street in Wilkes-Barre, then placed in a barrel where she was kept for four hours. She was left in the woods after she was cut but survived and made her way to a nearby home.</p><p>The assault stemmed from a missing cell phone Williams&#8217; alleged kidnappers believed she had stolen, according to the affidavit.</p><p>Moore and Taylor remain behind bars on $500,000 bail each.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Nygee-Taylor-6-2-15-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Taylor </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Nygee-Taylor-6-2-15-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Taylor </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Throat-slashing suspect’s attorneys challenge evidence