It’s another very active day for the Indiana County Courts, with a number of defendants to be sentenced, including an Indiana man who was involved in the shooting death of a man and the wounding of a woman during the 2017 IUPattys event.
20-year-old Matthew Ohler pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to aggravated assault, in exchange for avoiding prosecution for conspiracy to homicide and two counts of conspiracy to reckless endangerment. Police said after the shooting death of Carlos Recalde-Campos and the wounding of Samantha Riley, they found Ohler hiding behind the nearby Venice Pizza shop near the scene of the murder. The investigation uncovered evidence that Ohler had provided the murder weapon, a 40-caliber pistol, and that he was a dealer in stolen guns. They also found an online video post of Ohler and the killer, Matthew McNevin of Rayne Township, riding in a car the night of the shooting, in which McNevin bragged that he was going to kill Recalde-Campos.
McNevin pleaded guilty in April to third degree murder and aggravated assault, and was sentenced to twenty to forty years in prison, plus additional time for other crimes. He still has one case pending, for aggravated assault while in prison.
Ohler will also be sentenced today for conspiracy to possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. He was released on $10,000 bond after his guilty plea, but his bail was revoked last month and he was ordered back to the Indiana County Jail.
Also in county court today, an Indiana man will be sentenced for nine felony guilty pleas for a series of thefts for which he was charged with 42 criminal offenses in 28 separate filings.
28-year-old Robert Dale Bender targeted unlocked vehicles in White Township in a six-month crime spree that began in April of last year. Bender stole eight guns, money, laptop computers, electronics, medications, and even bicycles. He would leave his apartment at night, going “car shopping”, as police called it. He was caught after police used video surveillance footage from several sources. He told police he’d stolen from so many vehicles, he’d never be able to identify them all.
Bender will be sentenced for eight felony counts of theft of a firearm, plus one other count of theft, representing the other items he took.
Others scheduled to be sentenced today include Scott Hughes of McKeesport, for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and Lloyd Painter of Armagh, for prohibited possession of a firearm.
