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Wednesday, February 02, 2000 Page: 2A
A judge is expected to rule within several months whether a man convicted of
killing a woman in a drunken-driving crash should receive a new trial. Jason
Politz is trying to get his 1996 conviction for the death of Sharon Yanulevius
overturned, arguing he did not understand what he was doing when he opted to
have his case heard by a judge rather than a jury. Politz was convicted of
homicide by motor vehicle while driving drunk for the August 1995 car crash
that killed Sharon Yanulevius on West End Road in Hanover Township. Politz’s
new attorney, Joseph Cosgrove, has also questioned why Politz’s prior
attorney, Joseph Yeager, withdrew a motion to suppress Politz’s blood- alcohol
test. Cosgrove has argued the test was inadmissible because the blood sample
was taken without Politz’s permission while he was undergoing treatment for
injuries he sustained in the crash. Assistant District Attorney Ingrid Cronin
said Yeager testified Tuesday that he withdrew the motion after he researched
the law and determined there was no legal basis to support it. Senior Judge
Gifford Cappellini ordered attorneys to file legal briefs by April. He will
issue a ruling at a later date.
WILKES-BARRE
Judge overturns liquor board ruling
A judge has overturned a state Liquor Control Board ruling that fined Desi’s
Pizza in West Pittston $1,000 for serving alcohol to a minor. The
bar/restaurant on Luzerne Avenue was cited in April 1998 with selling two
six-packs of beer to an 18-year-old woman. The bar appealed the citation,
arguing it should not have been cited because the woman previously supplied a
fake identification card listing her age as 22, according to court records.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Conahan held a hearing in
December. In a ruling issued Tuesday, he reversed the board’s decision. The
one-page ruling does not cite Conahan’s reasons for his decision.
WILKES-BARRE \New trial sought in sex assault case
A Plymouth man convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in 1997 is seeking a
new trial, claiming his attorney was ineffective for failing to call witnesses
to discredit the victim’s testimony. Richard M. Coss was sentenced in January
1998 to 4 1/2 to nine years in prison for his conviction on two counts each of
involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and simple assault and one count of
indecent assault. Police said Coss accompanied the woman to her Plymouth home
from a bar, then forced her to perform sexual acts on him. Coss has vehemently
denied the allegations, once calling his conviction a “grave mistake” by the
justice system. Coss is seeking a hearing under the state’s Post Conviction
Relief Act, an appeal that is taken after other state appeals have been
exhausted. In his petition filed Tuesday in Luzerne County Court of Common
Pleas, Coss claims his trial attorney, Charles Ross, failed to call two
witnesses who could have provided him with an alibi. Coss also claims Ross
failed to call two witnesses who would have contradicted the victim’s version
of events. Coss admitted he walked the woman home, but insisted he had no
sexual contact with her. Coss said the woman changed her story several times,
and that no physical evidence was found to substantiate her claim. Judge
Patrick Toole Jr. scheduled a hearing on the appeal for Feb. 22 at 9 a.m.
WILKES-BARRE
Court rules against insurance company
The state Superior Court has denied an insurance company’s appeal in
connection with a 1997 fire that damaged a Wilkes-Barre home. A Chester
Street home owned by Martin E. Hozlock was damaged by fire on June 15, 1997.
Fire officials had the second floor sustained severe fire damage, and the
first floor had water damage. Donegal Mutual Insurance Company filed an appeal
in state Superior Court. According to the appeal, both sides were unable to
agree on the amount of the loss and the insurance company demanded an
appraisal. The company appointed one appraiser and Hozlock chose another. The
appeal asked the court to vacate a Feb. 18, 1999, appraisal award by Luzerne
County Court and to disqualify the appraiser that Hozlock had chosen. The
state court on Jan. 31 affirmed the Luzerne County Court decision.