The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, February 24, 1993 3 Schwartz (continued from page 1) didn’t comply. “It was a verbal threat, if you want to call it that,” he said. Dressed in a conservative dark @suit the jacket heavily padded around the shoulders, Schwartz frequently ran his hand through his stylishly cut hair, short in front and collar-length in back, as he listened to the attorneys. -Ms. VanLeuven's parents huddled together on the hard courtroom bench, his arm around her shoulders. Both appeared haggard, their faces less gray than a year ago, at Schwartz's prelimi- ) nary hearing. ‘ Neither testified; both refused to comment to the press. . When asked by District Attor- ney Peter Paul Olszewski if, in his own opinion, he was not guilty, Schwartz unhesitatingly replied, “Yes.” * He maintained that he had originally wanted to plead not guilty, but that Bott and Webby @ had coerced him into pleading guilty instead. When Olszewski asked him several times if he had told the truth during completion of his 13- page guilty plea colloquy (ques- tionnaire) and subsequent trial, Schwartz repeatedly answered, “I did as I was told. I didn't know that I was being dishonest. | an- swered everything the way that they wanted me to, because I knew that if I didn't, I would be repre- senting myself up here before the bar.” Several of the 66 questions on the guilty plea colloquy dealt with the defendant pleading guilty of his own free choice, not being threatened or coerced or threat- ened in any way, understanding that the guilty plea is not manda- tory and understanding the na- ture of the charges and their punishments. When he was filling out the colloquy, Schwartz said that he had left nearly half the questions blank because he didn't under- stand them, later completing them under Bott's and Webby's direc- tion. Although Schwartz based his testimony completely on recollec- tion, using no notes, he stated several times, “My memory may @ be different because I was in a 1 & i totally different state of health after having been shot inthe head.” + During his testimony, Schwartz constantly referred to the murder as “the incident” and to his former grigtend and mother of his child oF OE 5 as “the victim.” His mother, Lois Schwartz, testified that on the last day of the trial, her son had told her, “Mom, I'm not guilty but they want me to say that am!” She added that she had been too nervous to remem- ber much of the trial. Both Webby and Bott testified that they had not threatened or coerced Schwartz into pleading guilty at his May, 1992, trial in any way, and that he had com- pleted all but five of the questions in the guilty plea colloquy, not the 33 that Schwartz claimed. Both attorneys said that dur- ing all phases of his defense, they had conferred with Schwartz and his parents, who had agreed that Schwartz should not testify in his own defense. Bott elaborated, saying that Schwartz would not have been a credible witness because he had changed his story of the incident several times and claimed that he “didn't remember anything after Ms. VanLeuven had fired the first shot.” Bott also said that Schwartz later blamed his prescription medication for his having pled guilty. Describing Schwartz as “intel- ligent, clever and shrewd,” Bott said, “There was never a question in my mind that he understood his rights and his alternatives. Any defense other than a dimin- ished mental capacity would have put his credibility in ‘rouble.” After the hearing, Olszewski said that Schwartz's claim that the public defenders had forced him to plead guilty is a “very unusual” reason for asking to withdraw a guilty plea. “Mr. Schwartz is making every effort to manipulate the criminal justice system to his own favor,” Olszewski continued. “His claims are absurd. But this has been a | futile attempt on his part; I'm confident that he'll spend the rest of his life behind bars.” Olszewski commended Webby and Bott as “consummate profes- sionals and gentlemen, neither of whom would ever coerce or force a defendant in any way.” When asked if he had improp- erly advised or ineffectively de- fended Schwartz, Webby snappea “Hell, no! And you can quote me on that!” Judge Mundy said that he will render a decision on Schwartz's request to change his plea “in the near future.” James Solomon will be 4 years old James Edward Charles Solo- mon, son of George and Lori Solo- mon, Parson, will celebrate his fourth birthday on Sunday, Feb- ruary 28. He is the grandson of Harry and Dawn Traver, Noxen:; George and Mary Solomon, Cherry Hill and Ed and Sally Kwak, Old Forge. Republicans will meet March 3 .' The Back Mountain Republicans will meet March 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kingston Township Municipal Building. Sequence of events in Schwartz murder case More than a year after he shot his former girlfriend to death in the driveway of his parents’ Dallas Township home, Setphen G. Schwartz asked Judge Hugh Mundy for a new trial, claiming that his former attorneys, public defenders Louis Bott and Ferris Webby threatened and coerced him into making the written and oral statements that he made during his trial last May. This sequence of events led up to his hearing, Monday, February 22: January 17, 1992: Schwartz shot Deborah VanlLeuven three times in front of their two-year-old daughter, Stephanie, in the driveway of his parents’ Dallas Township home, using a semi- automatic pistol that he took from the home of his then-girlfriend, Carole Cimokasky. As a result of the wounds, Ms. VanLeuven died later that evening in the emergency room at Nesbitt Memorial Hospital, where doc- tors treating her had removed a set of handcuffs from her wrist. Schwartz fled the scene in Ms. VanLeuven's car, taking her purse and credit cards. January 20, 1992: Police apprehended Schwartz, the object of a nationwide manhunt, after a 6-1/2 hour standoff at the Day's Inn in Wilkes-Barre. Before surrendering to police, Schwartz shot himself in the head with the same pistol that he had used on Ms. VanLeuven. February 14, 1992: District Magistrate Earl Gregory bound over to Luzerne County Criminal Court charges against Schwartz of homicide, reckless endangerment, theft and receiving stolen property. Represented by public defenders Louis Bott and Ferris Webby, Schwartz never took the stand at the hearing. May 11, 1992: At a bench trial (with no jury) before Luzerne County Judge Hugh Mundy, Schwartz pleaded guilty to a general charge of homicide, leaving it up to Mundy to decide his degree of guilt. Mundy convicted him of homicide, which carries a manda- tory sentence of life in prison without parole, theft and receiving stolen property. The reckless endangerment charge was dropped. Schwartz was lodged in the Luzerne County Prison, awaiting sentencing. January 22, 1993: Representing Schwartz, attorney Gerald Deady filed a petition to change Schwartz's original guilty plea to not gulty, claiming that Webby and Bott had been ineffective in ad- vising Schwartz to plead guilty to the original manslaughter charge. February 22, 1993: Judge Mundy presided at the hearing on Schwartz's petition to change his plea. By Grace R. Dove 1 ; College Misericordia's Continuing Education Department is ready to . help you Meet the Challenge. Join us for an open house and explore your options with a trained counselor. Open House March 1, 1993, 5-8:30 p.m. President's Conference Room Administration Building Registrations Currently Being Accepted CONTINUING EDUCATION Spring 1993 - Term B Schedules Evening Classes (March 11 - May 3, 1993) BIO 227 25 Bacteriology M/W/TH 5:00-8:00PM ACC 202 25 Intermediate Accounting II M/TH 5:40-8:00PM ACC 402 25 Taxes li M/TH 5:40-8:00PM BIO 104 25 General Biology II M/TH 5:40-8:00PM BUS 371 25 Business Financial Management M/TH 5:40-8:00PM ENG 103 25 Composition M/TH 5:40-8:00PM : MTH 115 25 Basic Statistics | M/TH 5:40-8:00PM ACC 302 25 Advanced Accounting 11 M/TH 8:10-10:30PM ENG 222 25 Major British Writers Il M/TH 8:10-10:30PM ’ BUS 440 25 Marketing Management M/TH 8:10-10:30PM PSY 123 25 Introduction To Psychology M/TH . 8:10-10:30PM RLS 104 25 World Religions M/TH 8:10-10:30PM ¢ ACC 472 25 Accounting Intemship TBA " RDT 413 25 Radiography Co-op TBA & . 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