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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A plea deal has been offered to a Hazleton man charged with the fatal shooting of an alleged rival drug dealer, and the suspect&#8217;s attorney said Thursday he was confident the case can be resolved.</p><p>Jancarlos Perez, 22, was charged last year with the death of 23-year-old Jose Concepcion, whose body was discovered in January 2016 in the Humboldt Industrial Park with a gunshot wound to the head. Prosecutors alleged Perez killed Concepcion to eliminate him as a competitor in Hazleton&#8217;s drug scene.</p><p>During a hearing Thursday in Luzerne County Court, Perez&#8217;s attorney, Jack McMahon, said he&#8217;d been offered a plea deal that he plans to discuss with Perez and his family in the coming weeks. McMahon, noting the deal is a &#8220;major decision&#8221; to consider, said he believed the offer &#8220;should be seriously, seriously considered.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very hopeful and confident we can resolve this,&#8221; McMahon said in court via speakerphone.</p><p>The plea talks prompted Luzerne County Judge Fred A. Pierantoni III to continue Perez&#8217;s trial until March 27. The trial had been scheduled to begin Jan. 17. Assistant district attorneys Mamie Phillips and Justin Richards agreed to proceed to trial in March unless a deal is accepted first.</p><p>Prosecutors say Perez, who had claimed to be best friends with Concepcion, previously tried to set up him up telling police where and when the rival drug dealer could be found in possession of a large quantity of heroin.</p><p>Concepcion was subsequently arrested in July 2015 in the same spot where his body would later be discovered, illustrating Perez&#8217;s familiarity with the location, prosecutors allege. The arrest resulted in Concepcion facing felony drug charges.</p><p>Perez remains jailed without bail at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Perez </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Perez_Jancarlos_toned.jpg</photo0><caption0>Perez </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>

Plea negotiations underway in Hazleton homicide case