Trial set for 4 charged in Freeland vape shop slaying
Summary
The trial for four men charged with murdering a man outside a Freeland vape shop is scheduled to begin next month, according to attorneys at a pre-trial conference on Thursday. Wally Javier Barrera Torres, 22, Waili Bonilla, 21, Lysander Josue Pichardo, 19, and Edgar Polanco, 25, all of Hazleton, are accused of opening fire outside the Fly Monkey Vape Shop on Centre Street in Freeland on Dec. 2, killing 18-year-old Rafiel Sanz and wounding a 15-year-old boy. Luzerne County First Assistant District Attorney Tony Ross and defense attorneys told Judge Michael T. Vough that discovery has been exchanged and the parties are ready for trial. Jury selection will begin Nov. 13, with opening statements on Nov. 16. A fifth defendant, Emmanuel Franklin Feliz, 20, of Hazle Twp., will be tried separately; his trial was delayed until next year. A sixth man charged in the shooting, Jhoan Solano Castillo, 19, died after a fight with another inmate at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility last December; his death remains under investigation.
(Source:Standardspeaker)