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Coal to Devin Malik Cunningham, admitted killer, who pleaded guilty this week for his role in the brutal slaying of Edwardsville resident Joseph Monka, 71, last year.
Cunningham, 21, was the final one of the original four defendants in Monka’s death to enter a guilty plea in the case. His eleventh-hour plea to a count of third degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder came Wednesday, amid jury selection for his trial, which was set to take place at Mohegan Sun Arena due to COVID-19.
Every single one of those defendants, including Monka’s own granddaughter, deserves the punishment coming to them — in Cunningham’s case that would be 40 to 80 years, less 532 days time served — but Cunningham’s behavior after the fact only adds insult to injury for everyone, from the victim and his family to the taxpayers of Luzerne County.
First, the killer had to be captured and hauled back from his mother’s home in Virginia.
Leaving his arraignment, he played down his role in the murder of another human being, saying “Damn that (expletive) sucks, I can’t lie,” before plugging his music site and rap name for reporters as he was led into a police cruiser.
Then, more recently, Cunningham made a failed attempt to have a confession made to Pennsylvania State Troopers shortly after his arrest blocked from court testimony. Cunningham claimed the troopers violated his rights in securing the confession, claiming it was not adequately explained to him what an “attorney” was.
Finally, Cunningham spurned a plea deal until the very last minute, as the county made substantial and expensive preparations for a socially distanced trial at the arena due to the pandemic.
He knew what he did. He ran from the law. He laughed about it. He played the system for as long as he could.
The world is better off with Cunningham off the streets. That won’t bring Monka back, but it makes the rest of us safer.
Diamonds, posthumously, to restaurateur Joe Agolino, who passed away this week. Agolino’s Restaurant on Luzerne Avenue in West Pittston is a community treasure, and that is in no small part due to the hard work of Agolino and his family, including through two major floods and the current pandemic.
“Agolino’s meant the world to him, he lived and breathed it … he truly loved all of his customers, he loved the business, he loved the hustle, the rush — he loved it all,” family members wrote in a Facebook post.
He sure did, and Agolino was a true fan of local sports as well.
Agolino’s welcomed the Wyoming Area football team for a celebratory dinner after the Warriors won the first state championship in the school’s history.
The community has lost a gentleman and a class act, and we send his family our deepest condolences.
Diamonds to Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown and to the seven appointees who have agreed to serve on his new citizens’ advisory committee to oversee the police department.
Amid intense scrutiny of police forces nationwide since George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis and other deadly incidents, Wilkes-Barre officials have been discussing — and sometimes at odds over — whether and how to provide more citizen oversight for the local force.
We know Brown’s solution was not the one everyone preferred, though we believe he is acting in good faith, and his appointees are drawn from diverse backgrounds with different life experiences that should give them the broad perspective needed for this role.
“My reason for joining the committee is just to ensure that policing is equitable for all members of the community. And while I’m very excited that we don’t currently have an issue like we see what’s going on in other cities around this nation, my goal is to be proactive with this committee,” said appointee Rahman Marshall.
Agreed. This committee can be a valuable tool, and we hope its work will be beneficial to all involved.
— Times Leader