The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third District has denied the appeal of a Brooklyn, New York, man, who, along with three others, were convicted of murdering another New York resident at an apartment in Palmerton over 20 years ago.

The appeal of Cetewayo Frails, 41, was rejected in a two-page order issued by the 3rd District Court.Frails had filed an appeal with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. That appeal was denied by Senior Judge Edwin M. Kosik.Frails then appealed that decision to the 3rd District Court, which has now rejected it.Frails' next appeal in the case would have to be before the U.S. Supreme Court.Frails had his appeal denied in a 29-page opinion issued by Kosik on June 30, 2014.Kosik's opinion and order directs the Carbon County Clerk of Courts to close the case and states, "There is no basis for the issuance of a certificate of appealability."Frails, along with co-defendants Kaquwan Milligan, Dennis Boney and Myles Ramzee, all of Brooklyn, were convicted by a county jury of the shooting death of Tyrone Hill.Prosecutors said the murder was the result of a "turf war" between rival drug dealers.The murder occurred in October 1997, and the four were convicted at trials in 1999.Ramzee, who was identified as the shooter, shot Hill because he was intruding on their drug territory that also included Monroe County.All four were sentenced to life in prison without parole. Ramzee was tried by himself while the other three had joint trial.The fifth person charged in the murder, Verna Russman, of Monroe County, described as a "drug mule" working for the four defendants as a delivery person for their illegal drugs, testified as the star witness for the commonwealth in the case.Russman was present when the murder occurred and placed the other four at the scene and identified Ramzee as the one who shot Hill in the back of the head.Russman pleaded guilty to third degree murder in the case in a plea agreement. She was sentenced to serve 10 to 20 years in prison.Although convicted over 20 years ago, each of the four defendants have filed numerous appeals seeking a new trial. All the appeals have been denied by the county court and two state courts. The most recent appeal, by Ramzee, was denied by Carbon Judge Steven R. Serfass earlier this year. It was Ramzee's sixth appeal under the state's post conviction review act.The trial of the four and the numerous appeals have been costly for the county.In 2013, The Times News reported that prosecuting the four and responding to all the appeals cost the county more than $100,000.District Attorney Gary F. Dobias successfully prosecuted the case and brought to the attention of the public what it has cost Carbon County in dollars.Dobias said another cost was the time spent by his office in preparing legal documents and attending numerous court hearings in battling the various appeals.Dobias, in the June 2013 article, said he realizes the right to appeal, but said the current system that allows a defendant to repeatedly use the appeals process has to change."I just think the current system is being abused," Dobias was quoted as saying.He added, "It seems to me that there should be more careful scrutiny of petitions, and getting them thrown out earlier, and not allowing them to appeal."Frails is an inmate at the state correctional facility at Smithfield. Ramzee is at SCI Dallas, Milligan is at SCI Huntingdon and Boney is at SCI Frackville.