Continuance

A Sharpsburg man charged last month with illegal possession of firearms was granted a continuance during a hearing Wednesday in Washington County District Court. Defense attorney Gregory Bannon asked Judge Mark D. Thomas to grant the continuance because he said he needed more time to prepare for the defense of Terry Allen Porter, 46, of 4433 Mills Road. Porter and Bannon spent about a minute in court on Wednesday to ask for the continuance. Porter declined to comment afterward.

For the fifth time, a continuance has been granted in the case of the woman charged with vehicular homicide in the July 2010 crash that killed a Waynesboro teenager.  Mary Ellen Bonebrake's attorney, Wayne Bradburn of State College, Pa., sought a fifth continuance Wednesday in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. That request was not opposed by Chief Deputy District Attorney David Rahauser, but he said the case needs to proceed. "Time is of the essence. This is the fifth continuance," Rahauser said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Defendants in two criminal homicide cases dating back to the 1970s have been granted continuances in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. Larry Eugene Hull, 52, of St. Thomas, Pa., pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison in 1979, but a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals granted him a new trial last year. Hull was charged in the Feb. 25, 1975, shooting death of Lloyd Shatzer of St. Thomas. Pennsylvania State Police records said Hull dumped Shatzer's body down a well after he was shot during a drunken argument.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Bunker Hill, W.Va., attorney accused of killing his ex-wife last year and dumping her dismembered body in or along Back Creek in western Berkeley County was granted a continuance of his trial Friday in Berkeley County Circuit Court. The trial of Stephen R. Fielder, 58, of 9280 Winchester Ave., which was scheduled to begin in late July, was continued to Nov. 6. A pretrial hearing was set for Oct. 26. Fielder shuffled into court Friday wearing an orange jumpsuit, handcuffs and shackles.

A liquor license violation hearing for Cancun Cantina was continued Wednesday and will be rescheduled for March, county liquor board officials said. John Salvatore, the attorney for the Washington County Board of License Commissioners, requested the continuance because a Hagerstown Police Department officer who was scheduled to testify was unable to be there. Related medical records also had not been obtained. Joseph Rouse, representing Cancun Cantina on Dual Highway near Hagertown, opposed the continuance because a number of witnesses had been assembled, but the liquor board members decided to grant the continuance.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A Chambersburg man charged with criminal homicide was granted a continuance until the September trial term during an appearance Monday in Franklin County, Pa., Court. Kevin J. Barrett, of 627 Siloam Road, told Judge John R. Walker he recently fired his private attorney. His new lawyer, Public Defender Robert J. Trambley, asked for a continuance until the November trial term, but Walker denied the request. Barrett is charged in the Sept. 7, 1997, shooting death of Wendy Schuchman outside Siggy's bar on Norland Avenue.

HAGERSTOWN Attorneys for an inmate accused of killing a correctional officer at Washington County Hospital in January filed a motion April 25 to postpone his trial for 18 months. Brandon Morris, 20, was indicted Feb. 22 by a Washington County grand jury on 36 counts, including three first-degree murder charges in the shooting death of Jeffery Alan Wroten. Morris' trial was scheduled to begin July 31 and last at least five days. Washington County State's Attorney Charles P. Strong Jr. filed a response to the defense motion Monday.

The defendant and the victim were both in jail and available for trial, but five prosecution witnesses failed to show Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court, delaying for two months the trial of a 16-year-old city teen charged with attempted murder. Maurice Davoughn McMillan, of 623 N. Locust St. in Hagerstown is charged with second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment in the Oct. 9, 2011, stabbing of Jarvel Fostion. Fostion, 18, of 106 W. Bethel St., Apt. B, Hagerstown, was stabbed five times in the torso, according to city police charging documents.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A woman convicted of trying to poison her husband with anti-freeze was not sentenced Wednesday, to the displeasure of Franklin County District Attorney John F. Nelson and Judge Richard J. Walsh. "I think I'm being played for the fool and so is the court," Nelson told Walsh during the sentencing hearing for Linda Turner Reasner. Nelson objected to any further delay in the sentencing of the 55-year-old Orrstown, Pa., woman, who was in court to be sentenced for attempted homicide and aggravated assault.

Franklin County (Pa.) Commissioner Robert L. Thomas, who has been a commissioner since 1995, announced Friday that he will be able to continue serving in the post even as he undergoes treatment for the blood and bone marrow disease myelodysplastic syndrome. Thomas, 58, made the announcement Friday in the commissioners meeting room, in the presence of his wife, Sherryl, daughters Bobbie and Kelly, other family members, friends and fellow Commissioners David Keller and Robert Ziobrowski.

Attracting professional baseball continues to be a major talking point in Fredericksburg, Va., and it's drawing concern from at least one Hagerstown City Council member. A study that examines the economic feasibility of a multiuse stadium in Fredericksburg will be presented Monday to the city's economic development officials, according to an agenda found on the Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority's website. “I get a feeling that the Fredericksburg proposal, the movement down there is a serious proposal,” Councilman Donald F. Munson said Thursday.

"Iron Man" is probably the most lucrative superhero franchise in Hollywood. Nolan's "Batman" series is sadly done, the "Spider-Man" reboot was hardly Marvel-ous, and I'm not convinced that Zack "Sucker Punch" Snyder can sell this generation on Superman in the upcoming "Man of Steel. " The real powerhouse is of course "The Avengers," the unprecedented convergence of superhero franchises that managed to rule the box office in an extremely competitive 2012. But as much as that film emphasized teamwork, there was little doubt that the most popular member of the team, and the one most capable of carrying the first follow-up film, was Iron Man. The new film sees Iron Man aka Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.)

It was a school of fisherman - not fish - that huddled in one area of Conococheague Creek at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pa., on Saturday. Those anglers, like all of the others standing in the water, were after one thing - the elusive tagged fish that come with prize money. Every year, thousands of fishermen from the Tri-State area come to Chambersburg for the annual Noontime Lions Trout Derby. This is the 16th year for the event, which offered nearly $50,000 in cash and prizes this year.

A man who died after being shot in an apartment in the 100 block of Randolph Avenue Saturday night has been identified as 26-year-old Steven Andrew Obrien, and police are continuing to investigate his death, a Hagerstown Police Department spokesman said Sunday. Obrien's body was sent to Baltimore for an autopsy, which determined Obrien died of a gunshot wound, Lt. Tom Langston said. Langston said he could not go into detail about the nature of Obrien's wounds. Police were called at 7:10 p.m. Saturday to the scene, which was a second-floor apartment.

Berkeley County Council made no change to its levy rates Tuesday, but some property owners might still see an increase in their tax bills due to increased property values.    County Council President Anthony J. “Tony” Petrucci said Tuesday that the rates were left unchanged, even with the overall improvement in property values, to provide “a little cushion” for the county to operate. For the 2013-2014 fiscal year, the levy rate for Class II property, which includes owner-occupied homes, will be 27.8 cents per $100 of assessed property value, according to county budget documents.

Downtown businesspeople asked the Waynesboro Borough Council on Wednesday to keep one of its parking lots available for public use after suggestions this week it could be made private. At issue was the lease agreement for the Trinity United Church of Christ parking lot off North Potomac Street. The borough leases the parking lot for $150 a month for the public to use when visiting downtown businesses or attending special events. Councilman Ben Greenawalt suggested the borough could save the money if the church instead leased the lot to entities operating a senior center there.

Letterkenny Army Depot on Thursday celebrated receiving its ninth Shingo medallion for excellence in manufacturing at a time when federal budget cuts are forcing operational changes. “Letterkenny will continue to raise the bar for itself, proving that no matter what obstacles we face, there will be absolutely no depreciation to the value of Letterkenny,” said Col. Victor S. Hagan, the depot's commander. As military spending continues to be reduced, the work at Letterkenny Army Depot will remain exceptional, Hagan said at a ceremony for the prize.

A Hagerstown Police Department spokesman said Sunday night that investigators were still trying to determine what led to the shooting of two men outside a bar in the West End of Hagerstown early Sunday. Investigators believed the disturbance occurred outside the bar at 5 Nottingham Road and involved only the shooter and the two victims, Sgt. John Lehman of the Criminal Investigation Division said. Nottingham Road is off Washington Street. The bar is close to the intersection of the streets.

Rescue workers and police worked for hours Monday night at the scene of a tractor-trailer crash on eastbound Interstate 70 near Hancock. Adam Vanhorn, 25, of Lancaster, Ohio, was driving a 2013 Kenworth near the 3-mile marker when he went to the right side of the interstate and overturned on a guardrail about 5 p.m., according to Maryland State Police. Vanhorn suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene. A state police spokesman said Monday night that investigators were still trying to determine what caused Vanhorn to wreck.