Schuback to be arraigned Wednesday in Baron's killing
Jun. 26—The man accused of killing Old Forge restaurateur Robert Baron faces arraignment Wednesday in Lackawanna County Court, according to an order signed by Judge Terrence R. Nealon.
Justin Schuback will be arraigned at 2 p.m. in the Lackawanna County Courthouse's Courtroom No. 1, nearly three months after his arrest on charges of criminal homicide, robbery, burglary, theft and abuse of corpse in the Baron case.
Schuback will plead not guilty, his attorney, Bernard Brown, confirmed.
Police took Schuback, 37, into custody at his Old Forge home in late March, more than six years after Baron was last seen in front of his borough business, Ghigiarelli's Restaurant, on the night of Jan. 25, 2017. Baron's high-profile disappearance prompted a yearslong police investigation that ultimately resulted in the charges.
Magisterial District Judge Terrence V. Gallagher found last month that enough evidence against Schuback exists to warrant trial on those counts.
Schuback entered Ghigiarelli's, killed Baron and disposed of his remains in the woods near Pagnotti Park in Old Forge, prosecutors contend. Police found bones belonging to Baron there in March. A subsequent search of the area turned up additional bones last month.
Brown, one of the lawyers who represented Schuback at the May hearing before Gallagher, argued prosecutors could not show Schuback stepped foot inside Ghigiarelli's the night Baron disappeared.
Lackawanna County Detective Sheryl Turner testified at last month's hearing that investigators reviewed Schuback's phone records and found he searched topics related to robberies the day before Baron was last seen.
Cell tower data placed Schuback near where Baron vanished, Ghigiarelli's, and in the area outside Pagnotti Park where Baron's remains were found, authorities said.
Schuback remains incarcerated at Lackawanna County Prison without bail.
Contact the writer:
jhorvath@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9141;
@jhorvathTT on Twitter.
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