DA to Appeal Triple Murder Ruling

A northeastern Pennsylvania prosecutor says he will seek reversal of an appeals court ruling overturning kidnapping and second-degree murder convictions in a 2008 triple murder.
 
Thirty-one-year-old Randal Rushing is serving three consecutive life sentences in the murders of 20-year-old Justin Berrios, 22-year-old Dustin Hintz and 16-year-old Leslie Collier.
 
Lackawanna County prosecutors said Ross used hammers and knives to kill the victims in a Scranton home, then stole jewelry, debit cards and video games and fled to Wilkes-Barre.
 
A Superior Court panel overturned his kidnapping and second-degree murder convictions last summer, saying a kidnapping charge requires that the victim be moved a ``substantial distance.''
 
District Attorney Andy Jarbola called the decision "bad law" and told The (Scranton) Times-Tribune that he appealed to avoid setting a precedent for similar cases.