Plea Court is scheduled today for several defendants at the Indiana County courthouse, including an Indiana man charged with two counts of theft be deception in a case originating in January.
It’s a twist on the old “swipe and swap” caper; 34-year-old Joshua Lee Helman is accused of taking a two-week-old receipt from the White Township Walmart store back to the store, collecting the items listed on the receipt from the shelves to the service desk, and getting a cash refund. Walmart’s theft department contacted police and Helman was arrested in the parking lot of the nearby GetGo gas station.
Another defendant scheduled for Plea Court is 35-year-old Steven Barnhart Jr. of Blairsville, who is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, fleeing or eluding a police officer, and ten summary traffic violations, including seven for blowing through stop signs during a police pursuit in February of this year. Blairsville Borough police filed the charges.
