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<p>Citing a possible mix-up with paperwork, the state Superior Court has continued the appeal of Juan Borbon, convicted of using a machete in a &#8220;gang-type&#8221; fight that resulted in a teenage boy nearly losing his hand in 2012.</p><p>Borbon, now 26, was convicted by a Luzerne County jury in September 2013 with assaulting a then 15-year-old boy during a fight outside Wilkes-Barre Area&#8217;s GAR High School in February 2012. Borbon grabbed a machete from a bag and swung it, nearly severing the hand of the teen boy.</p><p>Judge Joseph Sklarosky Jr. sentenced Borbon to eight to 16 years in state prison.</p><p>Borbon&#8217;s conviction and sentence has been upheld on a previous direct appeal with the Superior Court in 2015.</p><p>In his latest appeal filed in May under the state&#8217;s Post Conviction Relief Act, Borbon is challenging the legality of the sentence. Borbon filed the appeal on his own behalf after his appellate attorney was permitted to withdraw in April.</p><p>The Superior Court in a recent posting says Borbon can continue appealing the sentence under the PCRA application.</p><p>The appellate court determined Borbon was never served with instructions from Sklarosky that directed him to file a statement of errors he believes were made during his trial and sentencing hearing.</p><p>Borbon&#8217;s previous lawyers received Sklarosky&#8217;s instructions but not Borbon, the Superior Court found.</p><p>&#8220;&#8230; Nothing in the docket entries indicates that Borbon, himself, was served with the court&#8217;s &#8230; order,&#8221; the appellate court ruled.</p><p>The Superior Court directed Sklarosky to determine &#8220;whether Borbon was properly served&#8221; or if &#8220;Borbon was never served,&#8221; and to proceed with Borbon&#8217;s PCRA petition accordingly.</p><p>Borbon maintained he was nowhere near GAR during the fight. He claimed he was inside a residence on South Franklin Street in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Borbon was captured by U.S. Marshals in Passaic, N.J., on March 1, 2012.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Juan-Borbon-2012-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Juan Borbon was arrested in 2012 on charges he assaulted a teen boy with a machete outside Wilkes-Barre Area&#8217;s GAR High School. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Juan-Borbon-2012-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Juan Borbon was arrested in 2012 on charges he assaulted a teen boy with a machete outside Wilkes-Barre Area&#8217;s GAR High School. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Juan-Borbon-DOC-11232018-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Borbon </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Juan-Borbon-DOC-11232018-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Borbon </caption1><photoCredit1>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Fight took place outside GAR</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ed Lewis</p><p>elewis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Appeal allowed to continue in 2012 machete attack near GAR