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Prosecutor says ‘others’ involved in Bachman killing

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Wilkes-Barre Golf Club employees donate to Weinberg Food Band

<p>SCRANTON &#8212; Derek Spaide previously had a habit of acting boisterously at his court appearances, shouting at reporters on his way in and out of the courtroom.</p><p>But Thursday, while he was pleading guilty to charges related to a brazen bank robbery last May, he sounded meek; his voice could barely be picked up by the court&#8217;s microphones.</p><p>Spaide, 27, along with co-defendant Gerald Pambianco, 30, both appeared before U.S. District Judge Malachy E. Mannion at the federal courthouse in Scranton.</p><p>Court records show the pair entered into a plea deal with prosecutors this week, agreeing to plead guilty to robbing the Luzerne National Bank in Plains Township on May 16.</p><p>Prosecutors allege Spaide went into the bank with a T-shirt wrapped around his face, pointing a gun at the bank teller and demanding cash. He got away with over $8,000, and returned to the vehicle where Pambianco was waiting as the getaway driver.</p><p>The pair then led police on a high-speed chase on the North Cross Valley Expressway.</p><p>Pambianco and Spaide appeared in court separately Thursday. They had entered into what is called a joint plea deal, meaning prosecutors would only offer the deal if both of the co-defendants agreed to admit guilty. If either one balked, prosecutors reserved the right to retract the offer.</p><p>But the separate hearings went off without a hitch; both Spaide and Pambianco entered guilty pleas on one count each of armed bank robbery and use of a firearm in a violent crime.</p><p>The latter of the two charges caries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, but the pair could be in prison for the rest of their lives. Mannion will schedule their sentencing hearings at a later date, after a pre-sentence report is prepared.</p><p>And this isn&#8217;t the end of their legal issues.</p><p>Police say Pambianco, of Plains Township, and Spaide, of Hanover Township, got the weapons used in the robbery during a burglary at home in Askam earlier in the day. The pair are still facing state-level charges in connection with the home invasion.</p><p>They are both being held at the Lackawanna County Prison, pending their sentencings.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Gerald-Pambianco-cmyk-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Pambianco </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Gerald-Pambianco-cmyk-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Pambianco </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Derrek-Spaide-05172018-1-CMYK-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Spaide </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Derrek-Spaide-05172018-1-CMYK-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Spaide </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>

Two plead guilty to federal bank robbery charges for Plains Township heist