Suspect In Delaware Officer's Death Waives Hearing
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- A Wilmington man charged with fatally stabbing a New Castle County police officer has waived his right to a preliminary hearing.
Public defenders told a Court of Common Pleas judge on Monday that 32-year-old David Salasky Jr. was waiving his right to a hearing where prosecutors would have had to establish probable cause for charging him with the murder of 44-year-old officer Joseph Szczerba (ZER-bah).
The judge ordered the case transferred to Superior Court. Prosecutors will now have to try to obtain an indictment from a New Castle County grand jury. The case may be eligible for the death penalty.
Salasky, who has a long criminal history, is charged with stabbing Szczerba on Sept. 16 after police responded to a report of a vehicle break-in near New Castle.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)