Tamaqua district court

The Aug. 8 calendar in the court of District Magisterial Judge Stephen Bayer was jam-packed with a variety of cases. One defendant chose not to attend his preliminary hearings; one had his case heard; and all others waived the charges directly to the Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas.

Samson Zachary Walton, 24, of Weatherly, presented his case to Judge Bayer and had the most serious charge against him, making terroristic threats, dismissed. Charges of resisting arrest, driving under the influence, reckless driving, careless driving, failure to drive at a safe speed, failure to keep right, improper turning movements and violating a hazard regulation were filed by Rush Township patrolman Ryan Oldt after a June 21 incident.

Walton remains free on $10,000 unsecured bail.

Anthony Morreale, 35, of Pittston, also didn’t go to court for his hearing. He was charged with making repairs/selling an offensive weapon on Aug. 1. The charge was filed by Rush Township patrolman Oldt.

A warrant was issued for Morreale’s arrest.

Defendants who waived their preliminary hearings in cases involving assaults include:

George Bonetsky, 40, of Coaldale, charged with burglary, defiant trespass, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and criminal trespass in connection with a case from Feb. 28. The charges were filed by Coaldale patrolman James Bonner.

Bonetsky was released on $25,000 unsecured bail;

David John Brode, 24, of Tamaqua, charged with unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct, harassment, simple assault, aggravated assault and strangulation. He was charged by Tamaqua patrolman Dinu Dermargosian in connection with an assault on July 14.

Brode was released on $25,000 straight bail;

Mark Wesley Whildin, 38, of Coaldale, charged with simple assault, and harassment, which were filed by Coaldale patrolman Todd Weiss. The charges stem from a July 12 incident.

Whildin was released on $10,000 unsecured bail;

Jesse Jadush, 40, of McAdoo, charged with simple assault in connection with a July 26 case in Kline Township. The arresting officer was patrolman Justin Farley.

Jadush was released on $2,500 cash bail;

Dwayne Anthony Williams, 27, of Tamaqua, charged with aggravated assault, institutional vandalism, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, harassment and public drunkenness by McAdoo patrolman Steven Torres. The charges were filed after a June 9 incident.

Williams was released on $25,000 percentage bail;

Steven Rivera, 31, of Jeddo, charged with carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to obey a traffic control device. The charges were filed by McAdoo patrolman Steven Torres after a Dec. 31, 2017 traffic stop.

Rivera was released on $25,000 unsecured bail.