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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; During a very brief hearing before Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Vough on Thursday, Kendra Dias reaffirmed her plea of not guilty to charges she ordered a hit on her stepfather, Donald Bachman, 49.</p><p>The Wilkes-Barre man was gunned down outside of his Willow Street home on May 1, 2015, and prosecutors say it was Dias, now 24, who ordered the hit.</p><p>Dias allegedly paid an unknown person $1,500 to perform the hit. So far, a shooter has not been identified.</p><p>The Sugar Notch woman appeared in Luzerne County Court Thursday afternoon, joined by her defense attorney Nanda Palissery, through whom she entered a plea of not guilty on charges of criminal solicitation to commit homicide and criminal conspiracy to commit homicide.</p><p>Assistant District Attorney Jarrett Ferentino told Judge Vough that he expects a week long trial for Dias, and said that things are currently proceeding smoothly. Ferentino said he and Palissery began the discovery process quite early, which contributed to the smoothness.</p><p>&#8220;We intend to maintain that momentum,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Vough said he would be releasing a scheduling order to set future proceedings in the case.</p><p>According to prosecutors, Dias had Bachman killed due to his status as a community activist, reporting criminal activities to the police.</p><p>Dias is currently on $500,000 unsecured bail, which means she would only need to pay if she fails to appear at scheduled hearings.</p><p>Ferentino previously said there were extenuating circumstances that led to granting bail to Dias, but did not explain those circumstances at the time. One of them is likely to be Dias&#8217; current pregnancy.</p><p>Ferentino did say previously he believes Dias is neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Dias</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_Kendra-Dias-LCCF-02202019-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dias</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></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>

Woman accused of ordering hit on stepfather pleads not guilty