by peter e. bortner
An appellate court has declined to reverse a Frackville man's conviction and prison sentence on drug-related charges.
In a three-paragraph order filed Wednesday in Pottsville, the state Superior Court dismissed the appeal of Mark A. Yacovelli, 44.
Yacovelli's appeal should be dismissed because he failed to file a brief outlining reasons why the court should overturn his sentence, the court ruled.
As a result, Yacovelli's sentence of six to 12 months in prison, imposed Feb. 25 by county Judge John E. Domalakes, stands.
Yacovelli originally pleaded guilty June 6, 2012, to two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one of possession of drug paraphernalia. At that time, Domalakes accepted Yacovelli's plea and sentenced him to serve 170 days to 12 months in prison, plus 11 additional months on probation, and pay costs, $100 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund, $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and a $50 bench warrant fee.
Mahanoy City police had charged Yacovelli with possessing cocaine, heroin, syringes, pipes, a device used to crush marijuana and packaging material about 8:45 p.m. April 24, 2010, in the borough.
Police said they arrested Yacovelli following two controlled buys of drugs at his residence.
However, on Feb. 25, Domalakes revoked Yacovelli's probation and parole, ruling he had violated them by not reporting to his supervising officer and by refusing to take a drug test and saying he was a poor candidate for supervision as opposed to imprisonment.