Schenectady rape sentence tossed by appeals court

SCHENECTADY — Four years after Romeo Faulker began a six-year prison sentence for rape, an appeals court ordered that he must be resentenced.The reason: The judge at his trial never decided if he should be given a new lawyer after his original attorney dismissed his request to take back his guilty plea.As Faulkner was about to be sentenced on two third-degree rape charges, the now 28-year-old asked to rescind his guilty plea — a move that was discouraged by his lawyer.