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Wal-Mart to start discounting online-only items delivered to stores

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Happy birthday Zachary Ethan Raczkowski!

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Two Wilkes-Barre residents are facing charges for delivering heroin and fentanyl which caused the death of a man earlier this year.</p><p>The arrests are the first in Luzerne County&#8217;s history made by the District Attorney&#8217;s Office through the Luzerne County Drug Task Force. State law was changed several years ago eliminating a requirement to prove alleged dealers had malicious intent in order to charge them in a death.</p><p>District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis announced the arrests of Eric Scott Malia, of River Street, and Joan Rosengrant, of Monore Street, at a news conference Wednesday in the Luzerne County council meeting room in the Luzerne County Courthouse.</p><p>Malia, 32, and Rosengrant, 47, each face charges of drug delivery resulting in death, manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent, possession of a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility, and conspiracy to commit drug delivery resulting in death.</p><p>Michael Gumaer, 32, was pronounced dead as a result of a drug overdose at approximately 7:34 p.m. on Jan. 15. Officers had been dispatched to that residence for a report of an overdose victim. Police said he was a correctional officer at SCI Waymart.</p><p>An autopsy confirmed that the cause of Gumaer&#8217;s death was the combined effects of fentanyl and heroin, which Malia and Rosengrant are accused of distributing.</p><p>&#8220;Fentanyl is a narcotic 100 times more potent than morphine, and even more potent than heroin,&#8221; Salavantis said. &#8220;It is being delivered to addicts in place of heroin, and causing deaths at a higher rate than that of any other highly addictive drug.&#8221;</p><p>Salavantis explained the standards of drug delivery resulting in death has been expanded so that any person who delivers a controlled substance that results in death could face prosecution. She added that the malice requirement was eliminated in 2011.</p><p>&#8220;Since the expansion of the law, this office has been committed to prosecuting those dealers and utilizing this law given to us by the General Assembly as a tool to attack the drug problem poisoning our communities,&#8221; she said.</p><p>According to the criminal complaint:</p><p>Officers at the scene discovered Gumaer laying on his back on the floor of an upstairs bedroom at 7:35 p.m. on Jan. 15. Near him were two small white packets, along with two syringes and two pill bottles filled with an unknown liquid. Officers also noticed marks on Gumaer&#8217;s arms that were consistent with fresh injection marks from a syringe, along with his cell phone.</p><p>A forensic extraction and analysis of the phone revealed he made several calls to Rosengrant during the daytime on Jan. 15, as well as to Burgit&#8217;s Taxi Service at approximately 1:58 p.m.</p><p>A trip sheet from Burgit&#8217;s Taxi Service revealed Gumaer got a taxi to the residence on Union Street.</p><p>During an interview with police, Rosengrant told police she resides on Monroe Street and was a friend of Gumaer&#8217;s. She then admitted to conducting a drug transaction with Gumaer over the phone, and sold him two bags of heroin, and that she normally uses her phone to conduct drug transactions.</p><p>Rosengrant said she called Malia for the heroin, and identified him as her drug dealer. She further told police that Malia deals drug with his brother &#8220;Korey&#8221;, who police identified as Korey Pahler.</p><p>Rosengrant said Malia showed up at her residence and they met Gumaer at the front door. Rosengrant then sold Gumaer two packets of heroin, which Malia gave her, for $30. Malia then left following the transaction, and Rosengrant said Gumaer gave her $10 for &#8220;getting it&#8221; for him.</p><p>Rosengrant gave officers permission to search her cell phone, and they noticed the calls from Gumaer. Police also obtained a court order compelling Verizon Wireless and TracFone to provide call detail records for Gumaer&#8217;s account. Officers were also able to obtained deleted text massages sent from Gumaer to Rosengrant.</p><p>Police then identified Danielle Gumaer, who is identified as Gumaer&#8217;s sister. She told police that on the day her brother died, he called her while she was at work and asked her to pick him up. She picked him up at 4 p.m., and they went home to their residence on Union Street.</p><p>Danielle reported that Gumaer went upstairs at approximately 6:45 p.m., and that she assumed he was getting ready for work. She realized he had not come downstairs to take a shower, and that he did not answer when she shouted up to him. When she went upstairs to check on him, she found him slumped on the floor and reported that he did not respond when she shook him.</p><p>Malia and Rosengrant were arraigned on their charges before District Judge Joseph Spagnuolo not long after Salavantis&#8217; hearing. They both covered their faces as they were led into the courtroom.</p><p>Malia looked emotionally distraught as Spagnuolo read and explained the charges. On the issue of bail, assistant district attorney Angela Sperrazza told Spagnuolo that Malia was still on bail from a previous possession with intent case out of District Judge Rick Cronauer&#8217;s office.</p><p>&#8220;There is no bail condition that can ensure the safety of the community,&#8221; Sperrazza said.</p><p>Spagnuolo agreed, and denied bail for Malia.</p><p>He then set Rosengrant&#8217;s bail at $500,000, which seemed to stun her.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s how much I have to pay to get out?&#8221; she said.</p><p><strong>Targeting dealers</strong></p><p>Officials hope that the expansion of the statute will enable them to better target dealers on the streets.</p><p>First Assistant District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said that in the past, prosecutors had to prove that the intent of the drug dealer was to kill.</p><p>Now, they just have to prove that the delivery of the drugs that caused the death took place.</p><p>&#8220;That has been expanded basically because the courts have recognized these drugs are so dangerous that be delivering them, you know that there&#8217;s a high likelihood that someone could die,&#8221; Sanguedolce said.</p><p>Luzerne County Drug Task Force Coordinator Daniel Mimnaugh said the primary goal in any overdose case is to hold someone responsible for the death.</p><p>&#8220;When we arrive at these overdose death scenes, we treat it absolutely basically as a homicide,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We treat that scene as such.&#8221;</p><p>Salavantis vowed that her office would do everything in its power to secure convictions for both Malia and Rosengrant. She also hoped the arrests, along with the new use of the statute, would serve as a clear message to drug dealers.</p><p>&#8220;We are going to use this resource,&#8221; Salavantis said. &#8220;They need to be aware that if they want to sell drugs on our streets, we will be watching,&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County D.A. Stefanie Salavantis holds a press conference at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Wednesday, April 12.  Standing with her is Assistant D.A. Angela Sperrazza, Lt. Richard Lussi, First D.A. Samuel Sanguedolce and Luzerne County Drug Task Force Coordinator Daniel Mimnaugh. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL041317PressConference2-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Luzerne County D.A. Stefanie Salavantis holds a press conference at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Wednesday, April 12.  Standing with her is Assistant D.A. Angela Sperrazza, Lt. Richard Lussi, First D.A. Samuel Sanguedolce and Luzerne County Drug Task Force Coordinator Daniel Mimnaugh. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL041317Eric-Malia-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Eric Malia is led from DJ Spagnola's ofice in Plains. 4/12/2017 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL041317Eric-Malia-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Eric Malia is led from DJ Spagnola's ofice in Plains. 4/12/2017 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL041317Joan-Rosengrant-1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Joan Rosengrant  4/12/2017 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL041317Joan-Rosengrant-1-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Joan Rosengrant  4/12/2017 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Travis Kellar</p><p>tkellar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Travis Kellar at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table style="border:none;width:98%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"> 3AoNnnz7QdQ</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"> YOUTUBE</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AoNnnz7QdQ</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> &lt;iframe width=&#8221;560&#8221; height=&#8221;315&#8221; src=&#8221;https://www.youtube.com/embed/3AoNnnz7QdQ&#8221; frameborder=&#8221;0&#8221; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> Prosecution in Drug Deaths</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> Sean McKeag and Aimee Dilger</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

Updated: Luzerne County DA announces arrests for drug delivery resulting in death