Defense attorney can inspect truck from Luzerne County crash

An attorney representing homicide suspect Louis Weihbrecht received permission to inspect a truck and the site of a fatal crash. This decision was made in a Wilkes-Barre court, with no objections from the prosecutor. The judge allowed the attorney, John B. Pike, to visit the scene where Mark Reginald Svadeba was hit by Weihbrecht's 2007 Chevrolet Silverado truck. This incident happened on September 13, 2024. The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney James L. McMonagle, confirmed that they only need to arrange a date and time with the garage's owner for the inspection. Authorities allege that Weihbrecht intentionally drove the truck into Svadeba during a dispute over a woman, dragging him nearly 30 feet. Pike suggests that the truck may have had a mechanical problem. Police seized the Chevrolet truck the day after the crash when Weihbrecht surrendered to an off-duty officer. A second motions hearing is set for June. During this hearing, Pike will ask the court for various pieces of evidence, including a list of witnesses and their statements. He also wants to prevent the prosecution from mentioning Weihbrecht's past issues and from calling Svadeba a "victim" during the trial. Weihbrecht, 56, is charged with criminal homicide and is scheduled for trial in September.