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First Posted: 12/16/2014

Nanticoke woman allegedly beat mother bloody

• A city woman was charged in connection with an attack on her mother, police said.

Officers responded to the area of Lee Mine and South Hanover streets at about 10:18 p.m. Sunday for a report of a woman screaming, yelling and saying she fell out of a vehicle. The female caller was “belligerent” to the Luzerne County 911 dispatcher, saying, “you’ll figure it out,” according to court papers.

Police found Kimberly Wojciechowski, age not released, in the area of East Union and South Market streets running toward West Ridge Street. She was out of breath, had blood on her face, hands and clothing and told police she was beat up by her daughter, court papers state.

Port Griffith man threatened to ‘dust’ girlfriend, sliced her neck

• A Port Griffith man was arrested after he allegedly threatened to “dust” and kill his girlfriend and assaulted her, police said.

Township police responded two separate times to 43 Friend St. on Sunday for reports of domestic disputes.

On the first dispatch, police said, they learned that Hank A. Rottman and Bethany Simpson were arguing, and Rottman told them he wanted Simpson removed from the residence. Police said they told Rottman he would have to have Simpson evicted because the address on her driver’s license was the same as his address.

Later that evening, a 911 dispatcher told police the male caller, identified as Hank A. Rottman, said several times that he was going to kill his girlfriend and that he would “dust her” — a slang term meaning to beat up or kill. The dispatcher told police he then heard more threats, including “something with a knife.”

Prosecutors seek to use personal details of Wilkes-Barre Area dean’s life as evidence against him

• With no physical or scientific evidence linking suspended Coughlin High School Dean of Students Stephen Stahl to an inappropriate student relationship, Luzerne County prosecutors are seeking to use the student’s alleged knowledge about Stahl’s personal life.

Prosecutors filed a notice in court intending to have the now 26-year-old woman testify to what Stahl may have told her about his life in the mid-2000s.

Stahl, 48, of Hunlock Township, was charged by Wilkes-Barre police in February with corruption of minors after the woman claimed they had a sexual relationship in 2004 and 2005. The woman was a 16-year-old junior at Coughlin when the alleged relationship began.

Stahl was suspended without pay as a result of the investigation. He was made dean of students at Coughlin on Jan. 2, and had been a wrestling coach at the school for 17 years, with the last seven years as head coach.

His trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 12

Plea deal reached in fatal Mother’s Day crash in Jenkins Township

• A man from Jenkins Township pleaded guilty in Luzerne County Court for his role in the fatal Mother’s Day crash involving Jean Darsky on Westminster Road in Jenkins Township on May 12, 2013.

John Kuniskas, 37, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and criminal attempt to tamper with evidence. The state Attorney General’s Office withdrew charges of homicide by vehicle, accident involving death and four vehicle violations, including texting while driving against Kuniskas.

Judge Joseph Sklarosky Jr. accepted the plea agreement reached between the attorney general’s office and Kuniskas’ attorney, Peter Paul Olszewski Jr.

Sklarosky sentenced Kuniskas to 6 to 12 months in jail and three years probation. The judged ordered Kuniskas to report to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on December 27 to begin serving his sentence.

Luzerne County eyes new record storage building