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Dozens of local municipalities receiving gambling grants

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Judge: Wright Township woman can’t be on primary ballot

Convicted killer gets dateto argue for new sentenceWILKES-BARRE &#8212; Todd Hyung-Rae Tarselli will appear in Luzerne County Court this summer, at which point the court will determine if he&#8217;s viable for a new sentence.Tarselli, 45, has been serving a life term for the 1992 death of Mark Bunchalk, 17, during a robbery at a Kentucky Fried Chicken location on Broad Street in Hazleton.Tarselli shot Bunchalk nine times and strangled him with a phone cord before making off with a little over $1,000.In January last year, Tarselli was granted the right to appeal his sentence, as he may have been a minor at the time of the murder. A new U.S. Supreme Court decision bars mandatory life sentences for defendants who were under 18 at the time of their crime, but does not rule out a life term if the trial judge deems it appropriate.Tarselli claims he was 17 when he committed the crime, saying a discrepancy between the way age is counted in his home country of South Korea and the United States led state records to wrongfully suggest he&#8217;s 18.Tarselli will appear before Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Vough on Aug. 6 and 7 to make his case for why he deserves a new sentence.Ex-Turkey Hill employee waives preliminary hearingWILKES-BARRE &#8212; A former employee at Turkey Hill on Rutter Avenue, Kingston, accused of stealing more than $3,000 from the store waived his right to a preliminary hearing in Luzerne County Central Court on Wednesday.Kingston police allege Mitchell Armstrong Payne, 25, of Wyoming, pocketed cash after ringing up sales and voiding them during the months of September and October.Payne waived a single count of theft to county court.Forgery charges dismissedWILKES-BARRE &#8212; Charges of forgery and theft were dismissed against Jordan Krystel El, 22, of East South Street, Wilkes-Barre, during a preliminary hearing in Luzerne County Central Court on Wednesday.El was charged by Ashley police in August with purchasing a $500 Visa gift card with 10 counterfeit $50 bills, according to court records.Plymouth woman nowfacing trial in drug caseWILKES-BARRE &#8212; A Plymouth woman allegedly caught with heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine and ecstasy during a traffic stop waived her right to a preliminary hearing in Luzerne County Central Court on Wednesday.Borough police stopped Shayna Marie Stout, 28, of Templeton Lane, when she was seen driving a Jeep on West Main Street on March 13. Police were aware Stout&#8217;s license was suspended.During the stop, police found more than 100 heroin packets and illegal narcotics in her pockets and inside the vehicle, court records say.Stout waived charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and tampering with evidence to county court.Four counts each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia and a single count of misbranding were withdrawn.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Ed Lewiselewis@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div>

Court Briefs