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2 plead in fight, slaying outside shop

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man and a woman have pleaded guilty in a fight and shooting death outside a well-known Philadelphia cheesesteak shop almost two years ago. Paul Burkert, 37, of Reading pleaded guilty last week to voluntary manslaughter and a firearms charge in the July 2021 shooting death of 22-year-old David Padro Jr. outside Pat’s King of Steaks. Jamie Frick, 38, of Newmanstown pleaded guilty to simple assault and reckless endangerment in connection with the fight moments before the shooting. Both will be sentenced in June. Other charges, including murder counts, were ...

Man gets 15 to 30 years in shot that wounded police chief

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison in a 2021 shooting that wounded a suburban Philadelphia borough police chief. Colin Petroziello, 26, of Yardley pleaded no contest last fall in Bucks County Court to attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder, aggravated assault and other charges. In a no contest plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence for conviction. Chief Joseph Kelly III of the Yardley police department was hit in the hand and ear by a shotgun blast through the ...

Mars Wrigley fined after workers fall into vat of chocolate

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Federal workplace safety authorities have fined a central Pennsylvania confectionary factory more than $14,500 following an accident last year in which two workers fell into a vat of chocolate. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Mars Wrigley in the June accident at the Elizabethtown M&M/Mars factory, saying the workers were not authorized to work in the tanks and weren’t trained on the proper safety procedures for the equipment. Officials said two workers employed by an outside contracting firm fell into the partially filled ...

Cosby prosecutors urge Supreme Court to restore his conviction

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Prosecutors urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction, complaining in a petition released Monday the verdict was thrown out over a questionable agreement that the comic claimed gave him lifetime immunity. They said the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in June to overturn Cosby’s conviction created a dangerous precedent by giving a press release the legal weight of an immunity agreement. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele called the court’s decision “an indefensible rule,” predicting an onslaught ...

GOP field in Pa.’s Senate race heads for reshuffle

HARRISBURG (AP) — The Republican field of candidates aiming to capture Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat in next year’s election is churning anew, with the candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump out and intriguing new candidates possibly in. Out is Sean Parnell — a favorite of Donald Trump Jr. — who ended his campaign after losing a custody battle in court in which the judge said he believed allegations of abuse made by Parnell’s estranged wife. “With the leading candidate getting out, that’s certainly going to create a reshuffling of the race here,” ...

Wolf signals readiness for redistricting

HARRISBURG (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday released the priorities for drawing Pennsylvania’s new congressional districts given to him by the panel he picked, signaling that he is ready to start discussions with Republicans who control the Legislature. In theory, the principles given to Wolf will guide the Democrat in his dealings with Republican lawmakers, less than four years after a divided state Supreme Court redrew the map to replace a GOP-drawn map it judged to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered. Wolf’s office did not make him available for an interview. But, in a ...