SUNBURY - A doctor and member of Mount Carmel Area School Board charged with driving under the influence of alcohol last year has secured a new attorney and is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 30.
Dr. Raymond Kraynak, 55, of Kulpmont, is scheduled to face a bench trial before Northumberland County Judge Charles Saylor. Kraynak, who was initially represented by Attorney James Zurick of Shamokin, has now secured the services of Pottsville lawyer Frederick Fanelli.
The defendant was scheduled for a pre-trial conference June 7, but that legal proceeding was continued by Saylor at the June 6 request of Fanelli, who needed more time to prepare the case. Kraynak is now scheduled for a pre-trial conference at 9:15 a.m. Aug. 9.
At a February hearing before Judge William H. Wiest, Zurick argued that Coal Township police did not have probable cause to charge his client with driving under the influence of alcohol at a DUI checkpoint on Route 61 in Coal Township on May 26, 2012. Zurick claimed the checkpoint was illegal and said the defendant was the only person charged with DUI during the checkpoint.
On April 17, Wiest denied Zurick's request to suppress evidence and the case proceeded to a pre-trial conference.
Kraynak, a practicing physician with offices in Ashland, Mount Carmel and Shamokin, is charged by Coal Township Patrolman Matthew Henrich with one count of DUI. He remains free on his own recognizance.