7 plead guilty in robbery scheme at Pa. rest stops

By RICH CHOLODOFSKY
TribLive

A group of seven men who used a phony lottery win to lure and rob motorists at Pennsylvania service plazas and truck stops pleaded guilty Monday in Westmoreland County.

The men — six from Ohio and one from Tennessee — admitted to stealing cash and jewelry from drivers in Dauphin, Somerset, Westmoreland and Washington counties during a two-day spree in April 2023.

Four robberies were reported by victims at a rest stop in Dauphin County on April 18, 2023. Additional robberies involving the same suspects were reported over the next two days at turnpike rest stops in Somerset and Westmoreland counties and truck stops along Interstate 70 in Westmoreland and Washington counties.

Deputy Attorney General Alex Cashman said the scheme relied on a specific con to isolate victims. One or two men would walk through service plazas claiming a friend had won the lottery and was giving away money that could be doubled.

Once lured behind parked trucks, victims were offered a chance to gamble on card games. As soon as they showed their money, they were surrounded by the other defendants who took their cash and jewelry before fleeing in three vehicles.

“They’ve been doing this all over the country,” Cashman said.

Victims were from Pittsburgh, Canada, Maine, Georgia and Arkansas.

Police identified the suspects’ vehicles as they drove west on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Two vehicles were detained at the New Stanton service plaza and a third was stopped on Route 30 in North Huntingdon.

The defendants each pleaded guilty to five felony counts of robbery. In exchange for the pleas, prosecutors dismissed 19 other charges against each man, including counts of conspiracy, racketeering and theft.

“Originally, all eight robberies were charged,” Cashman told Westmoreland Common Pleas Judge Michael Stewart II. “Due to the nature of these victims and what was recovered from the defendants, (the items) will cover what is owed and taken from the five remaining victims. Other victims refused to take my calls.”

The pleas were entered just as jury selection was set to begin. Cashman said participating victims, who were traveling to Westmoreland County to testify, consented to the deals via phone once they were assured their stolen property would be returned.

While no one was seriously injured, Cashman described the robberies as forcible. One woman had nine rings stolen from her fingers, while another had a chain ripped from her neck. In total, authorities said about $21,000 and more than a dozen pieces of jewelry were taken.

The defendants included five men from Cincinnati: John Henry Black, 41; Robert Dennis Murphy, 73; Darrell Marshall Noel III, 41; Adam Rick Smith, 41; and Danny Williams, 51.

Also charged were Robert Thomas Chandler, 47, of Batavia, Ohio, and Wendell A. Compton, 57, of Knoxville, Tennessee.

Chandler, Black, Noel and Murphy were each sentenced to serve 3 to 23 months in jail but were given credit for time served and immediately paroled. Williams, Compton and Smith — because they had fewer convictions on their criminal records — were sentenced to time served to 12 months in jail and paroled.

All seven men served about three months in jail after their arrests before posting bail in July 2023.

“One of the things that matters to me is that all took responsibility for their actions and that the victims will be made whole,” Stewart said.