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WILKES-BARRE – A Luzerne County judge said Wednesday he will review a preliminary hearing transcript in order to decide if a Kingston woman charged in a deadly hit-and-run accident should have charges against her dismissed.
Judge Michael Toole said Wednesday he’ll review the preliminary hearing transcript regarding Linda Giordano and Megan Panowicz after police charged them with accidents involving death after an August 2008 accident in which pedestrian Sharon Shaughnessy was killed on Wyoming Avenue.
Giordano filed court papers in August asking a judge to dismiss the charges, stating prosecutors have no evidence to bring the charges against her and that she has been charged wrongfully.
Panowicz filed similar court papers and will have a similar hearing next month.
At the preliminary hearing, Giordano testified she never saw an object on the street and was unaware that it was a person. There was no damage to Giordano’s vehicle, court papers say, and the county coroner and a police officer testified they didn’t know which impact killed the victim, as three cars had struck her.
Toole said he will make a ruling on the habeas corpus motion and schedule a hearing if needed. The two women will stand trial on the charges separately in coming months.
WILKES-BARRE – A city man was sentenced Wednesday to six months house arrest on charges he attempted to lure a 15-year-old girl into his vehicle in March.
Donald “Rocky” Clews, 62, of South Hancock Street, was sentenced on charges of luring a child into a motor vehicle and harassment by county Judge Chester Muroski.
Clews was ordered to pay a $35 fine for the harassment charge, which was summary. Clews pled guilty to the charges in August, and additional charges of disorderly conduct and harassment were dismissed.
The teen told police on March 25 that Clews has been whistling at her and asking her to come into his apartment since the start of the school year. The girl walks past Clews’ apartment on her way to Holy Redeemer High School, police said.
She said that she often saw Clews drinking beer and playing loud music. She said she told him to stop harassing her because she was afraid of walking past his apartment.
The girl’s father told police he advised Clews’ landlord to have Clews stop harassing his daughter.
Clews told police he had whistled at the girl, but he denied he waved at her to have her come into his apartment on March 25.
Police charged Clews whistled and “he did very loudly,” the criminal complaint says.