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WILKES-BARRE &#8212; His lawyer failed to show up, but the Wilkes-Barre man accused of setting a Laflin fire that killed three boys still entered a not-guilty plea Friday.Meanwhile, prosecutors confirmed they will not be seeking the death penalty in the case, noting they have facts the public does not.Preston Bonnett, 27, is facing three charges of homicide and three charges of arson after police say he set the fire that killed Ezekiel Major, 7, Devon Major, 12, and Erik Dupree, 16. The charges of homicide against him are considered open counts, which means he could be convicted of either first- or second-degree murder.Bonnett&#8217;s formal arraignment before Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Vough got off to a late start Friday as Bonnett&#8217;s lawyer, the Norristown-based Michael Walker, was nowhere to be found.Both Vough and First Assistant District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said they had not heard from Walker to explain his absence. Bonnett also confirmed he had heard nothing from his attorney.Eventually, Vough decided to proceed without Walker, despite protests from Bonnett.&#8220;I&#8217;m not comfortable with that,&#8221; Bonnett said. &#8220;My rights have been violated already.&#8221;Vough tersely countered, &#8220;I don&#8217;t care if you&#8217;re comfortable; this is the date and time of your arraignment.&#8221;Vough explained to Bonnett his rights would not be violated and that a not-guilty plea would be entered on his behalf.Sanguedolce began enumerating the charges against Bonnett. In addition to the homicide and arson charges, Sanguedolce said a series of counterfeiting charges that stem from the same Laflin home would also be included in Bonnett&#8217;s eventual trial.Bonnett and Tyla Griffin had a device used to make fraudulent credit cards along with some counterfeit cards at Susan Major&#8217;s residence last summer, police say.Griffin had been staying with Major, but when Major discovered the device, she kicked her and Bonnett out of the house, according to court records.Then on Oct. 25, police say Bonnett returned to the 60 Oakwood Drive home to burn it down, killing Major&#8217;s three children in the blaze.Judge chides defendantAfter Sanguedolce read off the charges against Bonnett, the suspect began to protest the phrasing the attorney was using.&#8220;He&#8217;s saying that I did it; he&#8217;s not saying &#8216;allegedly,&#8217;&#8221; Bonnett said. &#8220;It&#8217;s the same thing in the newspaper and the media.&#8221;Bonnett continued to argue this point, despite both Sanguedolce and Vough reminding him that all of the charges are, for legal purposes, allegations and not statements of fact. Eventually, Vough had had enough.&#8220;For the sixth time,&#8221; Vough boomed, &#8220;they&#8217;re allegations that must be proven in the court of law. That&#8217;s enough.&#8221;&#8220;Yes, judge,&#8221; came Bonnett&#8217;s meek reply.Sanguedolce then confirmed the prosecution would not be seeking the death penalty &#8212; with Bonnett briefly interjecting this was because they knew he wasn&#8217;t guilty.After the arraignment, Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said the decision not to pursue the death penalty had been a difficult, but ultimately unanimous one.&#8220;As horrific as this case may be&#8230; we don&#8217;t simply look at the crime and the tragic result that may empower emotions in everyone, especially myself,&#8221; Salavantis said.After reviewing the facts, including some which have not been made public, the decision was made Friday morning to not pursue the death penalty, the DA said. However, she would not reveal the exact reasons behind the move.&#8220;What I can say is that I put together a team of lawyers to review this decision in this case with me, and it was a unanimous decision to move forward in this way,&#8221; Salavantis said. She also said the boys&#8217; family accepts the decision.If Bonnett is convicted, he would likely face multiple life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.Tentative trial dateVough scheduled Bonnett&#8217;s trial to begin Aug. 20. However, any trial could be delayed due to a potential change in defense lawyers. Salavantis said it remains to be seen if conflict counsel or a public defender would be appointed for Bonnett to replace Walker.Phone calls to Walker were not immediately returned.Bonnett was remanded to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. Despite his criticisms of the media during the arraignment, he said nothing to reporters on his way out of the courthouse.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Homicide and arson suspect Preston Bonnett is escorted off an elevator after his arraignment Friday at the Luzerne County Courthouse. Prosecutors announced they will not seek the death penalty for Bonnett, even though he&#8217;s accused of starting a fire that killed three boys. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_TTL010618Bonnett.jpg</photo0><caption0>Homicide and arson suspect Preston Bonnett is escorted off an elevator after his arraignment Friday at the Luzerne County Courthouse. Prosecutors announced they will not seek the death penalty for Bonnett, even though he&#8217;s accused of starting a fire that killed three boys. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Patrick Kernanpkernan@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</shirttailMeta></div>

DA won’t seek death penalty for man accused in Laflin triple-fatal fire