Plea deadline set in Wilkes-Barre Township stabbing case

Jul. 7—WILKES-BARRE — A Wilkes-Barre man has until Aug. 10 to accept a plea agreement with prosecutors on charges he attempted to kill an ex-girlfriend inside a Wilkes-Barre Township hotel.

Eric Osiel Santana, 24, of Carey Avenue, was before Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas on Wednesday when the plea agreement reached at his preliminary hearing on Jan. 4 was to become official.

The plea agreement calls for Santana to admit to criminal attempt to commit homicide.

Santana's attorney, Benjamin Stanton, asked for a continuance to give him more time to explain the plea agreement to Stanton and his family.

Deputy Assistant District Attorney Thomas Hogans and Assistant District Attorney Carly Hislop set Aug. 10 as the deadline for the plea agreement to be accepted or Santana will face trial on the attempted homicide charge, including two counts of aggravated assault.

Lupas scheduled Santana's next appearance in court on Sept. 12, or sooner if a plea agreement is to become official. It is the fourth time Santana's expected plea agreement has been continued.

Wilkes-Barre Township police in court records say Santana showed up at the woman's place of employment, a hotel on Liberty Plaza on Oct. 25.

Santana entered the lobby where he brandished a knife and chased the woman inside the hotel, stabbing her as she attempted to escape, court records say.

Santana remains jailed without bail at the county correctional facility.