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Luzerne County government litigation settlements proposed

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Hanover Twp. man to be evaluated for special sentence

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Jury selection has begun for a pair of men accused of killing a prominent local DJ five years ago. But as the hours wore on Monday, potential jurors were sent home without a jury being set.</p><p>Roberto Battle and David Nealy are accused in the Oct. 13, 2013, death of Michael Onley, who performed under the name DJ Mo, outside of the former Outsider&#8217;s Bar on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Jury selection was set to begin at 9 a.m. Monday, but the process was slow-going, thanks in part to Battle and Nealy being represented by two different attorneys. That means both attorneys, in addition to prosecutors, need to agree on a jury, unlike a typical case which only relies on one defense team and the prosecutors agreeing.</p><p>By the time the courthouse closed at 4:30 p.m., the parties had individually interviewed approximately a third of the 100 potential jurors. The potential jurors are to return to court at 9 a.m. Tuesday.</p><p>According to prosecutors, Battle and Nealy killed Onley in a drive-by shooting after they had been kicked out of the bar earlier that night.</p><p>Nealy was driving the car, while Battle fired the shot that killed Onley, they say.</p><p>Battle and Nealy were arrested in May 2017 after a federal inmate, Shakim Varick, allegedly made a statement implicating them in the crime.</p><p>Battle was arrested by U.S. Marshals in New York City without incident, but was not extradited to Pennsylvania until October. Nealy was already incarcerated at SCI-Frackville for unrelated drug charges.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_web1_web1_Roberto-Battle-2-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Battle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_web1_web1_Roberto-Battle-2-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Battle </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_web1_web1_David-Nealy-2-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nealy </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_web1_web1_David-Nealy-2-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Nealy </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Jury selection to continue Tuesday in DJ Mo homicide trial