Omar Samuel (right) and Larry McLeod shown at the Luzerne County Courthouse on July 25, 2025.
Ed Lewis | Times Leader File Photo
WILKES-BARRE — A state prosecutor said Wednesday he plans to seek separate trials for two men accused of trafficking and forcing women into prostitution.
Pennsylvania Senior Deputy Attorney General Zachary M. Wynkoop announced his decision during a status conference for Larry McLeod, 62, of Wilkes-Barre, and Omar Samuel, 48, of Blakeslee, held before Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr.
Sklarosky said the trials will be held no earlier than 2027.
McLeod and Samuel were arrested in April 2025, following a lengthy investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations.
Court records say McLeod and Samuel forced several women to engage in prostitution at two motels in Plains Township from January 2021 to December 2023.
During a previous court proceeding, a woman testified she met Samuel when she drove with a friend to the Wyoming Valley to buy fentanyl only to have Samuel take her driver’s license and cellphone. She claimed Samuel forced her to go on “dates” with clients at a motel as he kept all the money.
She further testified Samuel passed her off to McLeod at another motel where McLeod took pictures of her and posted her photographs on a website that offers sexual services.
During Wednesday’s status conference, McLeod’s attorney, Ellen M. Granahan, said she plans to file a motion for bail because he has been jailed without bail since his April 2025 arrest.
Samuel remains jailed for lack of $250,000 bail.
Attorney James J. Scanlon represents Samuel.
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