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Suspended WB cop’s hearing pushed back, hires Philly attorney

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Sandusky gets new sentencing but loses request for new trial

Theft charges dismissedagainst bookstore cashierWILKES-BARRE &#8212; A district judge dismissed 18 counts of theft by unlawful taking against Heaven Hurry, 18, of Plymouth, during a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Luzerne County Central Court.Hurry was accused of making multiple fraudulent returns and electronically transferring nearly $300 to her Visa debit card while she was a cashier at Barnes &amp; Noble on South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, from April 29 to June 18.Police charged Hurry in December based on a report from Renee Lutz of Barnes &amp; Noble.Assault charge dismissedWILKES-BARRE &#8212; A district judge dismissed a simple assault charge against Nicolas Thomas Diblasi, 41, during a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Luzerne County Central Court.City police charged Diblasi, of South Sherman Street, Wilkes-Barre, after investigating a domestic disturbance where he allegedly slammed a bathroom door on the arm of a girl inside his residence Jan. 21.Assault case droppeddue to lack of evidenceWILKES-BARRE &#8212; A city man is newly free after prosecutors admitted they had no evidence tying him to a 2017 stabbing.Jeremy Sonny, 32, appeared in court Tuesday before Luzerne County Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr.Prosecutors had previously charged him with aggravated assault after he was accused of ambushing and repeatedly stabbing Jerome Carmichael on May 28, 2017.But Tuesday, prosecutors moved to have all charges dismissed.According to Sonny&#8217;s attorney, Theron Solomon, the charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence that tied him to the crime.Solomon said he was previously told Carmichael would testify and identify Sonny as his attacker. But Carmichael said he could not positively identify Sonny, leaving prosecutors without evidence to proceed.Assistant District Attorney Gene Molino, who was only recently assigned to the case, made a motion to have charges withdrawn, which Sklarosky granted.DJ Mo killer files appealWILKES-BARRE &#8212; Roberto Battle, convicted in December of shooting and killing Michael &#8220;DJ Mo&#8221; Onley, has filed an appeal, requesting a series of potential attempts at relief.The appeal comes after Battle was sentenced to life in prison last week, along with convicted co-conspirator David Nealy.Onley was killed in a drive-by shooting at the now-shuttered Outsiders Bar on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre in October 2013.Battle&#8217;s appeal, filed through his attorney Allyson Kacmarski, requests a judgment of acquittal, claiming a review of the &#8220;weight of the evidence&#8221; makes it obvious the jury&#8217;s verdict was based only on conjecture.If he&#8217;s not acquitted, Battle is requesting a new trial or a reconsideration of his sentence on a count of conspiracy to commit murder, for which he received 20 to 40 years in prison in addition to his life term.Jury picked for caretakeraccused of abusing patientWILKES-BARRE &#8212; After two full days of jury selection, testimony is finally set to begin in the case of a caretaker accused of sexually assaulting a non-verbal patient.Andrew Dula III is charged with assaulting the 36-year-old patient at Community Living, a home for people with disabilities based in Kingston. The assaults allegedly took place between late 2015 and early 2016.Dula allegedly confessed upon his arrest. But his attorney, Al Flora Jr., has argued the confession is not enough to establish a case.Dula was originally set to plead guilty, but rejected the plea deal.The jury is comprised of seven men and five women, along with two male alternate jurors.Testimony is set to begin in the trial at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday.Guilty plea forthcomingin money laundering caseWILKES-BARRE &#8212; A local certified public accountant will plead guilty next week to charges that he stole more than $1 million belonging to a client.Federal charges of money laundering and tax evasion were filed last Friday against Adam Kamor, of Rice Township, who owned the now closed Decker Accounting LLC.According to federal prosecutors, Kamor used Decker Accounting to skim more than a $1 million in checks from an unnamed business between late 2014 and early 2018.He also allegedly failed to report over $800,000 in income when filing his taxes between 2014 and 2016.Kamor agreed to plead guilty on the same day the charges were filed.Under a plea deal, prosecutors have said they would recommend the minimum sentence, but Kamor could face up to 25 years in prison.Kamor was initially scheduled to enter his guilty plea this Friday, but records show it has been rescheduled to Feb. 15.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Ed Lewiselewis@www.timesleader.comBy Patrick Kernanpkernan@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div>

Court Briefs