Court, April 16

Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, Pa.
·2 min read

Apr. 16—Stomping death case to be heard in Luzerne Co. Court

A Berwick man accused of a Feb. 13 homicide will have his case heard in Luzerne County Court, Wilkes-Barre.

Hazleton police said Joshua Keziah, 32, threw two punches at 38-year-old Frantz Orcel and stomped on his head in a North Vine Street parking lot near West 22nd Street during an attack that was captured on video surveillance.

Orcel was found unresponsive by police and taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton but later succumbed to his injuries at Lehigh Valley-Cedar Crest. The Lehigh County Coroner's Office determined Orcel's death was caused by blunt force head injuries. The manner of his death was ruled homicide.

Hazleton police also charged Keziah in a domestic violence case with felonies for strangulation and aggravated assault and a misdemeanor for reckless endangerment for a Feb. 13 incident.

Magisterial District Judge Joseph Zola, Hazleton, held charges in both cases for court after Wednesday preliminary hearings.

Keziah was apprehended at his home on Feb. 16 without incident and has been in jail without bail ever since. Originally he faced an aggravated assault charge but that violation was later withdrawn by police when Orcel passed, to make way for the homicide charge.

The Luzerne County District Attorney's Office assisted in the homicide investigation.

— Amanda Christman

Cases completed

The following cases were handled in local magisterial district courts, according to records:

—Brian Bartenope, 44, Hazleton, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for false identification to police on April 9. A count of flight to avoid apprehension filed against him by Hazleton police for the Oct. 6 incident was withdrawn by officers. He entered his plea before Magisterial District Judge Joseph Carmody, West Pittston.

—Charges for unlawful restraint, simple assault and harassment filed against Mark A. Synoraski, 48, Hazleton, by Hazleton police after a Nov. 24 incident were dismissed. Magisterial District Judge Donald Whittaker, Nanticoke, handed down the dismissal on April 7 after the victim didn't appear in court.

—John R. Weigand, 60, Hazleton, pleaded guilty to a summary count of harassment filed against him by Hazleton police after a March 13 incident. A misdemeanor for terroristic threats filed against him was withdrawn by officers on April 7.