Citizens' Voice from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania • 3

on all counts Ity kipolises gui Wilkes-Barre City Det. Tino An- Woman collapses following verdict in slaying of city man As the audience left the courtroom, a woman who was identified as Mrs. Skipalis, mother of Charles and Robert Skipalis, brothers who had just been convicted on 11 counts in the Nov. 10 shooting death of Terry Sturdevant, 47, at the H.M.S. Vehicle Service garage on Kidder Street, Wilkes-Barre, collapsed in the hall outside Judge Bernard Brominski's third floor courtroom.

Crying uncontrollably as she was helped down the aisle by an unidentified man, the woman's knees buckled and she fell to the floor outside the door in the hall. Wilkes-Barre City Det. Tino An-dreoli, prosecutor in the trial, rushed to the woman's aid, breaking the glass in a hall repository which held cylinders of emergency oxygen. Applying the oxygen mask to the woman's mouth, An-. dreoli appeared to administer life saving techniques.

Another unidentified woman who called Mrs. Skipalis gave the collapsed woman medication and said, "Oh, mom, please don'thaveaheartattack." Co-defense counsel, Attorney Vincent Cappellini, called for an ambulance and paramedics. It was stated by members of the family the woman had a heart condition and was taking medication. A medical team from Wilkes-Barre City was on the scene in minutes and stablized the woman. A heart monitor was connected and she was placed on a stretcher.

The woman was taken to Wilkes-Barre General Hopsital. 5- 8" The jury of seven men and five women yielded a verdict of guilty on all 11 counts Thursday in the trial of Charles and Robert Skipalis. Charles was convicted of third-degree murder. The brothers, both of Warrior Run, were convicted in connection with Nov. 10 shooting death of Terry Sturdevant, 47, at H.M.S.

Vehicle Service garage, Kidder Street, Wilkes-Barre. The business is owned by Charles Skipalis father of the convicted men. Charles Skipalis was charged with criminal homicide, two counts of criminal conspiracy, two counts of simple assault and one count of aggravated assault. Robert Skipalis was charged with two counts of criminal conspiracy, two counts of simple assault and one count of aggravated assault. Judge Bernard Brominski presided at the trial.

Following the verdict and the dismissal of the jury at 7:54 p.m., the commonwealth approached the bench and requested an increase in bail. Judge Brominski heard the request, but answered, "I think the bail is sufficient." The judge then told the convicted men they have 10 days to file a motion for a re-trial. Assistant District Attorneys Michael Melnick and Jim Phillips represented the commonwealth. Prosecutors in the case were dreoli and Luzerne county uet. u.

Michael Dessoye. Attorneys Gifford Cappellini and Vincent Cappellini represented the Skipalis brothers. Earlier in the proceedings on Thursday, Attorney Gifford Cappellini, defense co-counsel with Attorney Vincent Cappellini, said witnesses showed that the victim was a dangerous man who bragged about his criminal exploits. a You must know the truth. The attorney recounted testimony that Sturdevant fired a shotgun in the garage, fired a gun in the presence of and waved it at the children of Charles Skipalis, threw live shells into an open fire and bragged about beating people with a baseball bat.

During his one hour and 25 minute closing argument, Attorney Cappellini stressed to the jurors that if they had a reasonable doubt, they were obligated to acquit the defendants of all charges. Cappellini said it was Sturdevant who produced the gun and pointed it at the back of the head of Charles Skipalis after the two able, the right thing is to find him not guilty. Testimony shows this was a self-defense type of acciden-taldeath." In his 55-minute summation to the jury, Assistant District Attorney Melnick said the actions of (See GUILTY, page 21) had been engaged in a fight at the garage. Skipalis and Sturdevant grappled over the gun, and as they began to fall to the ground, the gun discharged, sending a bullet into the skull of Sturdevant behind therightear. Cappellini attacked the commonwealth's case and said it was a sloppy investigation, adding a tape of a call received at police headquarters from Charles Skipalis asking for an ambulance because a man had been shot was erased despite the fact Skipalis was arrested shortly after.

The attorney labeled Jody Hallas, who had gone to the garage with the Skipalis brothers and testified for the commonwealth, as a person who had the only motive for beating up Sturdevant. He said Hallas was incensed over the taunts by Sturdevant, who called him shorty and gimpy and made fun of his limping. Cappellini said he feels sorry for Herbie Petersen, now 14, stepson of Sturdevant, but said the youngster gave three different versions of the incident in tne ga-rage owned by the Skipalis brothers and their father. He said testimony showed Petersen was outside the garage when the shot was fired in the rear of the building. Cappellini told the jurors they have to consider the bad character Carlim An By ALCHOMAN CItiztfia'Vokf ArliCritk The clown prince of rock roll comedy George Carlin, delivered an unabashed and uproariously funny performance to 1,400 very satisfied patrons on Thursday night at the F.M.

Kirby Center for the Performing Arts. The show was presented by Thorn Greco and Factory productions. Carlin, who has long been a favorite on college campuses and cable television specials delivered a sidesplitting set of no holds-barred comedy that had the audience roaring from start to finish. And, as usual at a Carlin concert, all topics are fair game. Once considered the heir apparent to Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show, Carlin quickly found that his forte was the material that dominated his early classic recordings like Class Clown and FM-AM, and delivering them live in-concert.

His popularity also enjoyed a recent resurgence through his appearance as Ruf us in Bill 4 Ted's Excellent Adventure (Parts 1 2). of Sturdevant and the good character of the Skipalis brothers. "You don't convict for the sake of a conviction," he said. "Is it the right thing to convict him or the right thing to do justice," the lawyer asked the panel. "If the shooting is justifi institution From the president and vice president to retail store clerks, Carlin took his shots from the Kirby Center stage and scored direct hits each time out.

Carlin said that he lives by three iron clad rules "ft. Don't believe anything the government tells you; HI. Don't talk to the media, it'll get you in trouble no matter what and 3.1 don't believe in flags, They're symbols and they're for the symbol minded." Confused? It's okay, because you had to be there. Carlin is at his best when he's having fun with words. Actually, he'd probably make a terrific English prof essor.

"Why do they tell you to get your pet fixed if it's not broken? Carlin has an uncanny knack to see inside of you. He can find humor in the simplest things. "Did you ever fall asleep in the late afternoon and wake up after the sun goes down and then you're not sure what day it is? Carlin also offered tips for people to have fun. "If your days are boring and you want to have a good time, why not try some of these. backing out of a Drive-In bank.

in a Wendy's restaurant and see if they ac of humor cept Turkish money orders. in line at a bank, get up to the teller and ask for change for a nickel. up your basket to the brim in a supermarket and ask the person in front of you with one item if they mind if you go ahead of them." And the list goes on. Carlin says, "Try this one, go into a sporting goods store and buy a gun, ammo and ask them if they sell ski masks." Again, emotions. Carlin wants you to go on me trip with him and do what he does best watch people and feed off of them and enjoy life.

He makes it sound so simple. Carlin even offered a helpful household hint "Feed your pets rubber bands with their food. ItH make cleaning up after them a lot easier if the dirt has handles on it." And yes, George did say many things that can't make it into print. But you can be sure for the 1,400 people present, many of the stories will get told around the water cooler this today. George Carlin is a very funny person and his performance at the Kirby Center on Thursday night only underscored that persona.

1 i I Cltlirs'VotctJImmjMJY Carlin at work.