Court postpones two death cases

BY SANDRA K. REABUCK
The Tribune-Democrat

EBENSBURG May 08, 2008 11:10 pm

— Trials for two Johnstown men in unrelated cases – one involving the death of a resident of a personal care home and the other, a traffic death – have been postponed in Cambria County Court.
Jury selection for the trial of John Anthony Sr. in the death of a resident of Moxham Personal Care Home now is scheduled for June 16, defense attorney Jerome Kaharick said.
Anthony was the owner-operator of the home, where 47-year-old Gregory Hanks collapsed on a hallway floor and died.
Prosecutors allege that Anthony – who was on duty the night of Dec. 21, 2006, when Hanks died – could have saved the resident’s life by calling 911 for assistance.
Anthony, 51, of the 100 block of Berkley Road, Upper Yoder Township, is charged with the felony offense of neglect of a care-dependent person and the less-serious misdemeanor offense of involuntary man-slaughter.
Authorities said Hanks died from the combined effects of alcohol and drugs, and that he could have survived if he had been taken to a hospital after he collapsed.
Another resident who found Hanks on the floor around 9:30 a.m. said she had yelled to Anthony for assistance, but was told Hanks would be OK there for the night.
In the other case, the vehicular homicide trial of a Johnstown motorist in the pedestrian death of a 15-year-old schoolgirl has been continued, a county prosecutor said.
Jury selection was set for Thursday for the trial of Shannon Dykeman in the Jan. 31, 2006, traffic death of Kyna Sokol, a sophomore at Greater Johnstown High School.
No new date has been set for a trial said Heath Long, first assistant district attorney.
Dykeman, 34, of the 100 block of Fairfield Avenue, is charged with homicide by motor vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, speeding and three motor vehicle violations.
The girl was killed as she was crossing Franklin Street near Roxbury Park in Johnstown to get to a school bus stop.
The vehicular homicide charges against Dykeman originally were dismissed by a district judge, but later all of the charges against him were held for court action by Senior Judge Thomas Swope.