The last week of April was a busy one in the court of District Judge Stephen Bayer of Tamaqua with two days set aside for the judge to hear criminal cases.

Four defendants chose to have preliminary hearings, one failed to appear and the rest all decided to wait until their cases were called in Schuylkill County Court.Justin E. McArdle, 27, of 426 Arlington St., Tamaqua, didn't fare well with his preliminary hearing. Bayer found there was enough evidence to send charges of conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking to the county level.McArdle was charged by Tamaqua Cpl. Henry Woods in connection with a Nov. 5, 2013, incident involving the theft of copper from homes on Greenwood Street.McArdle was jailed in the county prison in lieu of $25,000 bail.Victor Mumtaz, 19, of 420 North St., West Hazleton, also had the charges against him held for court following his hearing. He was charged with driving under the influence of a controlled substance. The charges stem from a Dec. 13, 2013, incident and were filed by McAdoo patrolman Anthony DiVirgilio.Mumtaz was released on his own recognizance.Carl Upshaw, 35, of 135 Bayview Ave., McAdoo, had charges of DUI of alcohol and failure to use required turning signals bound over for court following his preliminary hearing. The charges were filed by McAdoo patrolman William Curilla in connection with a Dec. 22, 2013, incident.Upshaw was released on his own recognizance.April Ann Reznick, 31, of 107 E. Moser Ave., Coaldale, also had all the charges filed against her bound over to court. She was charged with access device fraud and theft by deception by Tamaqua patrolman Michael Hobbs following a Nov. 11, 2013, incident at the BRL Grocery Outlet.John D. Krell, 41, of 225 W. Blaine St., McAdoo, was in court for hearing on charges filed by two different McAdoo patrolmen on separate occasions in March.On charges of disorderly conduct and harassment, filed March 7 by patrolman DiVirgilio, Krell waived his right to a hearing and was released on his own recognizance.A plea deal was reached in the second case, filed March 12 by patrolman Curilla. Krell pleaded guilty to a nontraffic charge of harassment, while a charge of simple assault was withdrawn.Erik Javier Collazo, 35, of 70 Lutz Road, Kutztown, failed to appear for his hearing on charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was charged by McAdoo patrolman Curilla following a Dec. 21, 2013, incident.A warrant may be issued for his arrest.Sarah Rohlfing, 30, of 125 Pitt St., Tamaqua, had charges of simple assault and stalking dismissed. The charges were filed by Tamaqua Police Chief Richard Weaver in connection with Feb. 21 incident.