For the third time, a three-judge state Superior Court panel has upheld the conviction and state prison sentence of a former Mahanoy City man who committed a robbery in October 2008 in Shenandoah.
In a seven-page opinion field Tuesday in Pottsville, the panel ruled Joseph A. Yutko, 32, of Hunlock Creek, presented no facts that would justify the filing of his latest petition beyond the one-year deadline prescribed by law.
"Yutko filed his (petition) well beyond the time deadline," Judge Christine L. Donohue wrote in the panel's opinion.
As a result, Yutko must stay behind bars for five to 10 years, plus spend an additional five years on probation, the sentence county Judge Jacqueline L. Russell imposed on him on Jan. 10, 2010. Yutko is serving his sentence at State Correctional Institution/Somerset.
After a two-day trial presided over by Russell, a jury of eight women and four men found Yutko guilty on Dec. 10, 2009, of two counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy.
Shenandoah police had charged Yutko with helping to rob two men on Oct. 29, 2008, at 117 E. Centre St. in the borough.
Prosecutors said three armed men, including Yutko, entered the home, cut phone cords and took a computer, while a fourth, Raymond Iaconelli, drove the getaway car. Iaconelli testified at Yutko's trial.
In his latest appeal, Yutko alleged his lawyer was ineffective for not producing sufficient evidence to support his claim that the federal conviction of former Shenandoah police Chief Matthew R. Nestor for falsifying a police report in connection with the death of Luis Eduardo Ramirez Zavala mandates reversal of his conviction. Nestor testified against Yutko.
However, Donohue wrote that Yutko filed his latest appeal almost two years after his conviction became final and the law requires him to file such an appeal within one year.
None of the exceptions to the one-year requirement applies, Donohue wrote.
"Yutko does not assert that his ... petition satisfies any of the three exceptions" to the one-year requirement, she wrote.
Judge Jacqueline O. Shogan and Senior Judge John L. Musmanno, the other panel members, joined in Donohue's opinion.
Two different panels had rejected Yutko's earlier appeals in 2010 and 2012. In the 2012 case, the panel had considered and rejected Yutko's claim concerning Nestor's conviction.
In other court action, county prosecutors withdrew criminal charges against three defendants Wednesday.
Robert Bonaccolta, 44, of Lebanon, had been charged with public nuisance. Ashland police had charged him with maintaining the nuisance on July 2, 2012, in the borough.
David A. Close, 42, of Saint Clair, had been charged with robbery, criminal trespass, theft, receiving stolen property, simple assault and criminal mischief. Pottsville police had alleged he committed those crimes on May 4, 2013, in the city.
Robert F. Willie III, 25, of Minersville, had been charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. Minersville police had alleged he possessed drugs on July 17, 2012, in the borough.
In each case, President Judge William E. Baldwin signed an order Wednesday allowing prosecutors to withdraw the charges and directing the defendant to pay the costs.