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WILKES-BARRE — A city man who police say hid a bag of heroin inside his anus after they suspected him of dealing the drug was convicted by a county jury Tuesday, only he wasn’t in the courtroom to learn his fate.

Sherman Warren Wilborne, 32, of Park Avenue, Wilkes-Barre, never returned to the Luzerne County Courthouse following a lunch recess midway through his trial on a pair of felony drug charges.

The no-show perplexed Wilborne’s attorney, Mary Deady, who said she had no indication Wilborne would flee.

“We picked the jury, did our openings, called the first witness, then we broke for lunch and he never returned,” Deady said, noting multiple attempts to reach him were unsuccessful. His whereabouts remained unknown Tuesday evening.

Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas issued a warrant for Wilborne’s arrest and revoked his bail.

The trial, meanwhile, continued on without Wilborne, who had previously been convicted of criminal trespass and providing a false identification to a law enforcement officer.

A county jury took about an hour to convict him on both counts related to a March 2015 arrest in which Wilborne was accused of selling heroin to another man. At city police headquarters, the affidavit says, Wilborne initially objected to a strip search before confessing to officers he had the drugs inside his anal cavity.

Lupas scheduled Wilborne’s sentencing for Dec. 12.

“If he still hasn’t been apprehended, that could obviously change,” the judge said.

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By Joe Dolinsky

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Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL.