State police in Greensburg have filed a criminal affidavit detailing the charges against three people after a robbery at a home outside of Bolivar early last Saturday morning.
The investigation began when the victim, whose name was not released, reported that at around 3 AM on Saturday, he was sleeping on a couch at a home along Johnston Street in Fairfield Township when someone slipped a pillowcase over his head and his arms were restrained. Then someone reached into his pocket and stole $1,900. The suspects then fled.
According to the filing, a few hours after the incident, the victim’s son saw 41-year-old Lawrence James McLaughlin walking along Route 259 near the crime scene. He gave McLaughlin a ride to a gas station in New Florence and the man became suspicious when McLaughlin told him he’d been at a party at the victim’s home.
Police questioned McLaughlin and he told them he and 44-year-old Maurice Terrell Patterson had committed the robbery at the behest of 29-year-old Michelle Veronica Stiffey. All of the suspects are from Johnstown.
McLaughlin is charged with felony burglary and robbery, misdemeanor unlawful restraint, theft, and simple assault, and summary harassment. He’s in the Westmoreland County prison with bond set at $25,000. Patterson faces the same charges as McLaughlin, plus misdemeanor receiving stolen property. Stiffey is charged with burglary, robbery, and theft. All three suspects are scheduled for preliminary hearings on July 1st.
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