Three people charged with murder and another charged with assaulting a police officer have preliminary hearings scheduled in district court.

Oliver L. Trizarri, 21, of 645 N. Sixth St., Reading, and Stanley E. Kralik, 17, of 114 First St., Coaldale, are charged with the brutal beating of a Coaldale man more than a year ago.Both are charged by state police at Frackville with one felony count each of criminal homicide, first-degree murder, third-degree murder, robbery, aggravated assault and theft, along with two felony counts of conspiracy.Trooper Melissa Kyper charged Trizarri and Kralik with beating and killing Corey M. Samuels, 24, sometime between 11 p.m. Jan. 20, 2014, and midnight on Jan. 21, 2014.Both remain in Schuylkill County Prison, where they are being held without bail since their arrest on Jan. 11.Trizarri and Kralik will have their next court appearance their preliminary hearings at 10 a.m. March 10 before Magisterial District Judge Stephen J. Bayer, Tamaqua.Also charged with homicide is Thomas J. Petrousky, 54, of 256 S. Wylam St.West Mahanoy Township Police Chief Shawn Tray charged Petrousky with the death of David Halaburda, 51, on April 28, 2014, at the home the two shared.Petrousky will have to appear before Magisterial District Judge Christina E. Hale, Frackville, for a preliminary hearing on charges of criminal homicide, first-degree murder, third-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possessing instruments of crime, simple assault, simple assault with a deadly weapon, recklessly endangering another person and harassment.Hale scheduled the hearing for 1 p.m. Feb. 17 in Courtroom 3 at the Schuylkill County Courthouse.Petrousky is currently jailed at State Correctional Institution/Mahanoy, where is he serving a one- to three-year sentence on charges stemming from an assault on James Dellock.Petrousky pleaded guilty to the charges from that incident that occurred outside of his home shortly after the killing of Halaburda.The hearing will be at the courthouse in order to accommodate prosecutors, defense attorneys and witnesses since facilities at SCI/Mahanoy are not large enough, Hale said.Finally, a Mahanoy City man charged with assaulting two Mahanoy City police officers last month and asking them to kill him will have his preliminary hearing at 11 a.m. Feb. 26 before Magisterial District Judge Anthony J. Kicker in his Shenandoah courtroom.Stephen J. Wilner, 32, of 730 E. Centre St., is charged with four felony counts of aggravated assault, two felony counts of disarming a law enforcement officer and misdemeanor offenses of three counts of persistent disorderly conduct, two counts of simple assault and one count each of terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person and resisting arrest.Police also charged Wilner with summary offenses of two counts of harassment and one count of disorderly conduct.Police said officers received a report that a man in a hooded sweatshirt was walking west on East Pine Street and was intoxicated, yelling and screaming.The man, later identified as Wilner, was found upset and crying. At one point, police said, Wilner became hostile and began to charge at the officers saying, "Shoot me, shoot me."Before being taken into custody, police said, Wilner tried to disarm an officer and had to be subdued by additional officers who arrived to assist and by the use of a stun gun.The preliminary hearing is the next judicial proceeding a person charged with a crime has after being arrested and provided a preliminary arraignment where bail is either set or, in the case of a homicide, denied.At the preliminary hearing, often referred to as a trial before the trial, the district judge decides not whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty, but whether there is enough evidence to force him or her to stand trial.In making this determination, the district judge uses the "probable cause" legal standard, deciding whether the government has produced enough evidence to convince a reasonable jury that the defendant committed the crime or crimes charged against them.The decision by the district judge comes after hearing arguments from the prosecution and defendant, usually though their attorney.Prosecutors may call witnesses to testify and introduce physical evidence in an effort to convince the judge that the case should go to trial, while the defense usually cross-examines the state's witnesses and calls into question any other evidence against their client.Defense attorneys also try and convince the district judge that the prosecutor's case is not strong enough so that the charges should be dismissed.The accused also has the right to waive that hearing and simply have the charges heard at the Court of Common Pleas.Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC