WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — Pennsylvania police have busted a ring of thieves that they say were targeting truck drivers.
Police arrested seven men on Thursday, April 20, who were reportedly stealing jewelry and cash from people at truck stops and rest areas in Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland counties in Pennsylvania.
The men, ranging in ages from 38 to 70, were found with more than $21,000 in jewelry and other items at the time of their arrest, according to police.
The suspects are: Darrell Marshall Noel III, 38; John Henry Black, 38; Adam Rick Smith, 38; Robert Thomas Chandler, 44; Danny Williams, 48; Wendell A. Compton, 54; and Robert Dennis Murphy, 70.
They are all being held without bail at the Westmoreland County Prison on charges of conspiracy, robbery, corrupt organizations and related offenses in connection with a Flying J incident, according to a report on triblive.com.
The site reports that the group targeted a Flying J Travel Center in South Huntingdon off Interstate 70 with a lottery scheme.
“A Tennessee man and two others from Pittsburgh told investigators that a group of men claimed that a trucker won a $50,000 lottery jackpot and was giving cash to people at the truck stop,” triblive.com reported. “The robbers offered to double the cash in the men’s wallets and the value of the rings on their fingers. They made off with $300 and 11 rings valued at more than $42,000 in a white car and gold minivan, according to court papers.”
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
