Court Briefs

WILKES-BARRE – Daryl Jackson, 48, of Hazle Avenue, was sentenced Friday to two to four years in state prison on drug charges.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Toole sentenced Jackson on charges of delivery of a controlled substance and criminal conspiracy.
City police said Jackson in May 2005 sold crack cocaine to a plain-clothes police officer behind a downtown hotel.
WILKES-BARRE – Mary Zaleta, 41, of Third Street in Wyoming, was sentenced Friday to two to four years in state prison for a probation violation.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Ciavarella also sentenced Zaleta to an additional two years of probation on charges of theft and writing bad checks.
In one case, Jenkins Township police said Zaleta in May 2005 took a truck from an Aamco garage without paying for a repaired transmission.
She was initially sentenced to probation but violated it when she was arrested on new charges. The violation led to the new sentence.
WILKES-BARRE – Sam Husan Saman, 25, of Virginia, pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempting to have sex with a woman posing as a 13-year-old girl.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Toole will sentence Saman on charges of criminal attempt and criminal use of a communication facility at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 22.
Butler Township police said Saman in May was talking via computer with a confidential informant posing as a 13-year-old girl when he agreed to meet the girl at a Drums motel for sex. Police arrested him when he arrived at the motel.
WILKES-BARRE – James F. O’Brien IV, 26, of East Main Street in Larksville, pleaded guilty Friday to having sex with a 15-year-old girl.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Toole will sentence O’Brien on a single count of unlawful contact with minors at 9 a.m. March 12.
Plymouth police said O’Brien in January gave the girl beer and had sex with her inside a Plymouth home.
WILKES-BARRE – Leighanne Derby, 23, was sentenced Wednesday to one to two years in state prison for violating her probation.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Thomas F. Burke sentenced Derby to an additional year of probation on charges of illegal use of a credit card, forgery and identity theft.
Wilkes-Barre Township police said Derby in October 2004 used credit cards issued in her grandmother’s name to purchase items.
Derby was initially sentenced to probation on the charges, but violated its terms, leading to the new sentence.
WILKES-BARRE – Rannie Lee Palmer, 21, address unknown, was sentenced Thursday to 30 to 60 months in state prison for robbing a man.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. sentenced Palmer on a single count of robbery.
Wilkes-Barre police said Palmer and another man in October 2004 entered a Barney Street home, pulled a gun, tied up a guest at the home, and stole a safe and its contents.
WILKES-BARRE – Julio Tula, 22, of North Washington Street, was sentenced Thursday to one to two years in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility plus one year probation for a drunken-driving wreck.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Hugh Mundy sentenced Tula on charges of drunken driving, simple assault and accidents involving death or injury.
City police said Tula, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, did not have a valid driver’s license in June when he was driving a vehicle on Wilkes-Barre Boulevard. He failed to stop for a red light at the intersection with New Hill Street and struck a vehicle driven by Lynn Cropp.
Cropp was six months pregnant and her 7-year-old daughter was a passenger in the vehicle. Cropp had to be extricated from the vehicle and suffered a fractured pelvis among other injuries.
Tula had a blood-alcohol level of 0.22 percent. An adult driver in Pennsylvania is considered intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent.
WILKES-BARRE – Anthony Klem, 26, of Wright Avenue in Kingston, pleaded guilty Wednesday to robbing a Larksville pizzeria.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Toole will sentence Klem on charges of robbery and simple assault at 9 a.m. Feb. 13.
Larksville police said Klem in September entered Classic Pizza on East Main Street and purchased a can of soda. When the clerk opened the register, Klem grabbed some money and fled.
The clerk tried to take the money from Klem. He punched her in the face.
WILKES-BARRE – Carlos Palma-Lopez, 23, of Scott Street, pleaded guilty and was sentenced Wednesday to six to 12 months in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for fondling a young girl.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Toole sentenced Palma-Lopez on charges of indecent assault and corruption of minors.
Wilkes-Barre police said Palma-Lopez in August grabbed a juvenile girl inside a Scott Street apartment building and kissed her and fondled her before the girl was able to get away.
WILKES-BARRE – Donald Munnerlyn, 23, of Academy Street, was sentenced Friday to one to two years in state prison on drug charges.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Ciavarella sentenced Munnerlyn on charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.
Wilkes-Barre police said they stopped Munnerlyn in June 2005 as he was setting up a drug sale with an undercover officer on South River Street and found Munnerlyn with crack cocaine.
WILKES-BARRE – Larry D. Tooley, 24, of Poplar Street, was sentenced Monday to 16 months to 10 years in state prison plus probation on drug charges.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Ciavarella sentenced Tooley on charges of delivery of a controlled substance and criminal conspiracy.
Hanover Township police said Tooley in May sold heroin to a police informant outside a township restaurant.
WILKES-BARRE – Jesus Angel Delgado, 20, of McKinley Street in Hazleton, was sentenced Monday to five to 10 years in state prison for robbing a convenience store.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Toole sentenced Delgado on charges of robbery and receiving stolen property.
Hazleton police said Delgado in February entered the Turkey Hill Minit Mart on Alter Street and used a gun to rob the clerk of $39. He told police he needed money to buy crack cocaine.
WILKES-BARRE – Andrew Hanko Jr., 20, of Center Street in Nanticoke, was sentenced Monday to one to five years in state prison on drug charges.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Ciavarella sentenced Hanko on charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and criminal conspiracy.
Ciavarella also sentenced Hanko to one year of probation on a single count of simple assault in another case.
In the drug case, Nanticoke police said Hanko in September 2005 sold crack cocaine to a confidential informant at the East Side Apartments on East Church Street.
WILKES-BARRE – Christine Rutt, 27, no address listed, was sentenced Monday to one to two years in state prison plus a year of probation for using a stolen credit card.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Ciavarella sentenced Rutt on charges of criminal conspiracy, access device fraud, and forgery.
Laflin police said Rutt in May used a stolen credit card to make several purchases totaling thousands of dollars.
WILKES-BARRE – Marcello Mateo Whyte, 22, of Jamaica, N.Y., was sentenced Monday to three to six years in state prison plus a year of probation on drug charges.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Ciavarella sentenced Whyte on charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and criminal conspiracy.
Kingston police said they found cocaine and marijuana inside a room Whyte was staying in at a Division Street residence in February.
WILKES-BARRE – Joseph Zurenda, 24, of Union Street in Inkerman, Jenkins Township, was sentenced Monday to 15 to 30 months in state prison for his role in a theft.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Ciavarella sentenced Zurenda on charges of criminal conspiracy, theft, criminal trespass, and possession of drug paraphernalia in numerous cases.
In one case, state police at Shickshinny said Zurenda and others entered a Fairmount Township home. They found the residents sleeping and Zurenda began swinging a baseball bat, demanding that they leave. They fled, while Zurenda and the others stole two rifles from the home.
WILKES-BARRE – Darlene Olmstead, 51, with no address listed, was sentenced Monday to 16 to 50 months in state prison for cashing stolen checks.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Ciavarella sentenced Olmstead on charges of theft and forgery.
Pittston police said Olmstead in May 2005 wrote out more than $3,000 in checks to herself. The checks were stolen from the St. John’s Church office.