A Hazleton man was scheduled for two preliminary hearings before District Judge Stephen Bayer, of Tamaqua, but elected to waive those hearings to the county court level.

Jeffrey S. Petrone, 27, of 868 N. Church St., was arrested by Kline Township police on two occasions in 2014 on harassment related charges.On Sept. 25, Petrone was charged with harassment and harassment by communication by patrolman Justin Farley. Then on Dec. 31 he was charged with making terroristic threats, corruption of minors, harassment by communication and harassment by Chief John Petrilla. In the second case, Petrone allegedly made multiple calls to a Kline Township man, including several at "inconvenient hours."He was released on his own recognizance in both cases.In other cases, three defendants failed to appear for their preliminary hearings and had their charges held for county court.Brenton Wayne Gruber, 30, and Alyssa Gruber, 25, both of 154 Third St., Coaldale, were supposed to be in court for hearings on a single count each of use/possession of drug paraphernalia, filed by Coaldale patrolman Joseph Krebs. The charges stem from a March 13 incident.Warrants could be issued for the Grubers' arrests.Thomas Kennedy, 44, of 62B Hunter St., Tamaqua, didn't attend his hearing on charges of use/possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana. The charges stem from an Aug. 23, 2014, incident and were filed by Rush Township patrolman Adam Sinton.A warrant could be issued for Kennedy's arrest.Drug casesKyle Siegfried, 23, of 148 Jason Road, Hazleton, waived his hearing on charges of use/possession of drug paraphernalia, manufacturing a controlled substance and use/possession of drug paraphernalia. The charges were filed by Kline Township patrolman Anthony DiVirgilio after a March 21 incident.Siegfried was released on his own recognizance.George Michael Dougherty, 23, of 11 W. High St., Coaldale, waived a hearing on charges of use/possession of drug paraphernalia filed by Coaldale patrolman Brigdon Odhner. The charge stems from a March 9 incident, when police responded to his home for a possible drug overdose.Dougherty was released on his own recognizance.DUI casesShawn P. Gerber, 40, of 764 E. Main St., Ephrata, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after an incident in Tamaqua on March 15. Gerber was observed running red lights at the Five Points and Broad/Pine Street intersections and told the arresting officer he wanted to drive past his childhood home. Patrolman Joseph Krebs also charged him with two counts of running a red light, harassment and disorderly conduct. The defendant waived all of the charges to county court.Gerber was released on his own recognizance.Brian Keith Hettler, 23, of 61 E. Market St., Tresckow, waived his hearing on charges of DUI of a controlled substance (three counts), possession of marijuana and failure to stop at a stop sign. The charges were filed by Kline Township patrolman James Patterson after a Feb. 27 incident.Hettler was released on his own recognizance.Ryan Dillon Corwith, 20, of Water Mill, New York, waived a hearing on charges filed by Tamaqua patrolman Anthony Stanell on Feb. 19. The charges include DUI of a controlled substance (three counts), possession of marijuana, careless driving, purchase/use of an alcoholic beverage by a minor and possession of drug paraphernalia.Corwith was released on his own recognizance.Ronald Hartung, 60, of 269 Mush Dahl Road, New Ringgold, waived a hearing on charges of DUI of alcohol (two counts), violating the restrictions on alcoholic beverages (open container) and disregard of a traffic lane. Hartung was stopped on Lafayette Avenue, Hometown, by Rush Township Sgt. Duane Frederick on Feb. 23. Blood tests done at Schuylkill Medical Center South, Pottsville, indicated Hartung had a blood-alcohol content of 0.246 percent, three times the legal limit of 0.08.He was released on his own recognizance.