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Police: Alleged drug peddler swore on mother’s life

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; At what was supposed to be a scheduling conference for potentially moving the cases of two defendants accused of killing an Edwardsville man to juvenile court, the attorney for one of those juveniles suddenly announced his client planned to plead guilty.</p><p>Mercedes Hall, 16, admitted to one count of third-degree murder in the April death of Joseph Monka, 71.</p><p>The plea comes after months of legal back and forth over the charges against her.</p><p>Hall, along with Gabriella Elizabeth Long, 17, Christopher Brian Cortez, 19, and Devin Malik Cunningham, 20, was facing charges in Monka&#8217;s death.</p><p>Monka, Long&#8217;s grandfather, was found dead in his Edwardsville home with nearly $30,000 missing from his safe.</p><p>Hall appeared before Luzerne County Judge William H. Amesbury on Monday, joined by her attorneys Larry Kansky and Joanna Smith. Her appearance came as a bit of a surprise, as it came after a scheduling conference between prosecutors, her attorneys and those of one of her co-defendants.</p><p>Since both Hall and Long were juveniles at the time of Monka&#8217;s death, both of their legal teams were attempting to have their cases decertified, which means it would be moved back into the juvenile court system.</p><p>But during Monday&#8217;s hearing, Kansky announced his client&#8217;s intention to accept a guilty plea that had been offered to her by the Luzerne County District Attorney&#8217;s Office, one Kansky indicated was only on the table if her defense team agreed to stop pursuing decertification.</p><p>After Hall was transported to the courtroom from the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, Dr. Stephen Timchack, a Kingston-based forensic psychologist who interviewed her, testified about her competency.</p><p>According to her, Hall has an IQ of 70, and suffers from ADHD, but neither of these things impact her ability to knowingly enter into a guilty plea. As such, he felt she was competent to enter a plea.</p><p>Hall had been charged with an open count of criminal homicide, conspiracy to commit criminal homicide, theft, robbery and other related charges.</p><p>But as part of her plea deal, Hall agreed to enter a plea on a count of third degree murder, with the remaining charges against her being withdrawn. She also agreed to forgo any further attempts of having her case decertified, and she must also testify against her co-defendants.</p><p>Hall will not be sentenced until the completion of the other three cases.</p><p>Her guilty plea also comes after a period of confusion on whether or not Hall would even be charged for the homicide. At her first preliminary hearing, Magisterial District Judge James Haggerty declined to forward charges of homicide against Hall to the county level, but prosecutors argued Haggerty made improper statements that indicated he had unfairly prejudged the case before hearing it. Prosecutors refiled the case against Hall, with Luzerne County President Judge Richard M. Hughes III selecting Amesbury to replace Haggerty in the second preliminary hearing.</p><p>On the way out of court, prosecutors declined to make any comments, citing the continuing cases against the other defendants.</p><p>Long, joined by attorney John Pike, will be in court on Dec. 16 to argue why her case should be sent to the juvenile system.</p><p>The other defendants&#8217; cases remain pending.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Hall </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_Mercedes-Lin-Hall-05022019-1-1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hall </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>

Teen pleads guilty to role in friend’s grandfather’s murder