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Attorney again seeks deal he says asst. DA made

A defense lawyer for a man facing burglary charges is asking for the second time this year for prosecutors to honor a previous agreement reached between the two sides in the case.

Matthew J. Bowser, 30, is faces charges for a burglary last summer during which goods worth $40,000 were stolen.

In February, Bowser’s lawyer, Joseph Hudak, asked Common Pleas Judge William Shaffer to enforce an agreement Hudak said he reached with prosecutors at Bowser’s preliminary hearing.

Hudak made the same request Friday, citing a U.S. Supreme Court case to support his argument. He told Shaffer that former Assistant District Attorney Russ Karl promised to recommend Bowser to the accelerated rehabilitative disposition, an alternative sentence for first-time offenders who aren’t facing violent charges.

Karl retired from the prosecutor’s office late last year..

But Assistant District Attorney Mark Lope countered that his office is under no obligation to stick to the recommendation. Shaffer said he would consider both sides before he makes a decision.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appears in Sunday’s Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.

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