A Tamaqua man who chose to have his preliminary hearing held before District Judge Stephen Bayer in Tamaqua on Aug. 2 was able to have the number of charges against him cut in half.

Richard Hornbeck, 47, of Mauch Chunk Street, had his case presented before Bayer, who dismissed a charge of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to deliver. A charge of possession of a controlled substance was held over for trial in Schuylkill County Court.Hornbeck was charged with the two offenses by Tamaqua Police Chief Rick Weaver after a Sept. 30, 2015, incident.Hornbeck was able to post bond after his original bail of $25,000 was modified to $1,000 percentage on July 22.Jessica Lynn Moyer, 30, of Valley Street in Brockton failed to appear in court for her preliminary hearing on a charge of criminal mischief. The charge stems from a May 14 incident and was filed by Tamaqua patrolman Collin Leibensperger.A warrant was issued for her arrest.A warrant was also issued for the arrest ofGregario Flores, 36, of South Meadow Street, Allentown, who failed to appear for his hearing on charges of resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. The charges were filed by Leibensperger after a June 10 incident.Daniel Schaub, 35, of North Sheridan Street, McAdoo, had a charge of simple assault withdrawn with a charge of harassment moved to a nontraffic citation. The charges were filed by McAdoo patrolman Frederick Lahovski after a July 6 incident.John R. Muffley Jr., 36, of Brown Street, Tamaqua, had charges against him dismissed. The charges included aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct.George Kraynak Jr., 24, of Beaver Brook Road, Beaver Brook, had charges of retail theft and receiving stolen property dismissed.Megan Hill, 26, of Skyline Drive, Tamaqua, had charges of burglary, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property withdrawn.Michael A. Leiby, 30, of First Street, Coaldale, had charges of theft and receiving stolen property withdrawn.Bernadette Moulthrop, 45, of Willing Street waived her right to preliminary hearings before Bayer. She was scheduled to be in court to answer to charges in two assault cases. The first was from May 10 when charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest, reckless endangerment, institutional vandalism, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and harassment were filed by Leibensperger.Tamaqua patrolman Michael Hobbs charged Moulthrop with aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest, harassment and disorderly conduct on June 23. In that case Moulthrop threatened a state constable and police with a knife when they were arresting her on an outstanding arrest warrant.She remains in prison in lieu of $250,000 straight cash bail.Jonathan Michael Pauly, 21, of West Market Street in Pottsville waived a hearing on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest. The charges were filed by Tamaqua Cpl. Henry Woods after a June 1 incident, when Coaldale Police Sgt. Keith Krapf was assaulted while investigating a suspicious person complaint. Krapf was in Tamaqua assisting police as they dealt with a car accident that injured two young girls.Pauly was incarcerated in the county prison in lieu of $500,000 straight bail.A number of other defendants scheduled for preliminary hearings also elected to waive their charges to the county court level. They include:Nicholas James Tipton, 37, of Schuylkill Avenue, Tamaqua, was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication device. The charges were filed by Tamaqua patrolman Anthony Stanell after a Dec. 17, 2015, incident.Tipton remains in the county prison in lieu of $50,000 straight bail.Karen Rimsky,32, of Mauch Chunk Street, Tamaqua, had two hearings scheduled. She was charged by Stanell with possession with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility in connection with a June 10, 2015, incident.The second hearing was for charges of possession with intent to deliver and possession of a controlled substance, filed by Tamaqua Police Chief Rick Weaver for a June 11, 2015, incident.Bail in the first case was set at $10,000 straight, which she was able to post, and $10,000 unsecured in the second case;Nicholas Toth,22, of Municipal Road, New Ringgold, waived a hearing on charges of driving under the influence and making an improper turn. The charges were filed by Leibensperger after a March 12 incident.He was released on his own recognizance.Timothy Alan Kitson,43, of West Race Street in Pottsville was charged with criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. The charges were filed by Tamaqua patrolman Richard Bekesy after a March 25 incident.He was released on $10,000 unsecured bail.Joel Vermillion,26, of Clay Street in Tamaqua was charged with retail theft and receiving stolen property after a June 17 incident. The charges were filed by Rush Township patrolman Bradley Hess.Vermillion's bail was reduced from $5,000 percentage to $5,000 unsecured.Gary Schrepple Jr.,28, of Back Street in Barnesville was charged with retail theft by Hobbs after a Feb. 17 incident.He was released on his own recognizance.