Assault cases made up the bulk of preliminary hearings scheduled before District Judge Stephen Bayer in Tamaqua this week.

Michael J. Tracy, 27, of 18 E. Market St., Tresckow, was in Judge Bayer's court for two different cases, one involving an assault, the other for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.Tracy waived the hearing on the assault, which allegedly took place on Dec. 15, 2013. Charges of making terroristic threats, institutional vandalism, simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness and harassment were all waived, while charges of aggravated assault were withdrawn by McAdoo Police. Bail was set at $50,000, percentage.In the second case, Tracy was bound over for court trial on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, driving at an unsafe speed and careless driving from an incident on Jan. 29, 2013. Those charges were also filed by McAdoo Police.In the DUI case, Tracy was released on his own recognizance.Jason Demarco, 38, of 627 Wyoming St., Tuscarora, also had two cases scheduled before the judge.Demarco's first case stemmed from an Aug. 24, 2013 incident. He was charged with two counts of harassment by Tamaqua Police. One of the counts was dismissed and the other was bound over for court. Bail was modified to $5000 unsecured.The second set of charges were filed by Tamaqua Police following an Oct. 28, 2013 incident. They include two counts of stalking, harassment, disorderly conduct and reckless driving, which were held for court trial. Charges of reckless endangerment and harassment were dismissed.Demarco was released on $25,000 unsecured bail in that case.James Neff, 30, of 308 Washington St., Tamaqua, waived a hearing on charges of resisting arrest, providing false identification to law enforcement and possession of drug paraphernalia. Charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana were withdrawn by Tamaqua Police. The charges were filed after a Dec. 28, 2013 incident.Neff was released on his own recognizance.Alyssa Lauren Shellhammer, 23, of 307 Arlington St., Tamaqua, failed to attend her preliminary hearing and had charges of simple assault and harassment held over for trial in Schuylkill County Court. She was charged by Tamaqua Police following a Jan. 8 incident.A warrant can be issued for her arrest.Anna M. Funk, 47, of 307 Arlington St., Tamaqua, also failed to appear at her preliminary hearing, which stemmed from the same Jan. 8 incident as Shellhammer. She too was charged with simple assault and harassment, which were bound over for court.A warrant can be issued for her arrest.Miriam A. Blieka, 56, of 236 Mauch Chunk St., Tamaqua, failed to appear for her hearing too. She was charged with simple assault, conspiracy to commit simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and harassment, stemming from a Jan. 14 incident. The charges were filed by Tamaqua Police. The hearing was held without her presence and all of the charges were bound over to county court.Defendants who fail to appear for their hearings are subject to having warrants issued for their arrest.Isaiah Luke Tucci, 24, of 1139 Numidia Dr., Catawissa, waived charges of making a false report and driving with a suspended/revoked license to court. A charge of operating a motor vehicle without a valid inspection sticker was withdrawn by McAdoo Police. The charges stem from a Jan. 17 incident.Tucci was released on $10,000 percentage bail.