Eastern Pa. man on death row wins new trial

  

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - November 18, 2009 -- An eastern Pennsylvania man sentenced to death in the April 2003 shooting deaths of a local disc jockey and a friend in a botched robbery attempt has won a new trial.

Lehigh County Judge Edward Reibman says former prosecutor Maria Dantos "overreached" when she told jurors in 2007 that 42-year-old Junius Burno of Lansford was not a "good family man" and had committed "bad acts" in the past.

Riebman, who presided over the trial, says jurors were left to infer that Burno "was a bad man and acted 'in conformity' with his previous misdeeds." Dantos, now a Lehigh County judge, declined comment until the appeal is resolved.

Prosecutors say they plan to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Burno contended that he was outside the apartment when local DJ Carlos Juarbe and Oscar Rosado were killed.

---

Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com

Get more Local/State »

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•