HARRISBURG, PA — Seven men pleaded guilty Monday to robbery charges stemming from a series of thefts targeting motorists at Pennsylvania highway rest stops in 2023, Attorney General Dave Sunday announced.
John Black, Wendell Compton, Robert Murphy, Darrell Noel, Robert Chandler, Adam Smith and Danny Williams each pleaded guilty to five counts of third-degree felony robbery.
The pleas were entered Monday morning ahead of a trial that had been scheduled to begin this week, according to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.
Investigators said the group targeted truck drivers and other motorists in April 2023 at rest stops along the Pennsylvania Turnpike and other highways in Somerset, Westmoreland and Dauphin counties.
Authorities said the robberies were carried out using distraction tactics.
No weapons were used and no injuries were reported during the incidents.
A Westmoreland County judge sentenced each defendant to at least three months in prison followed by a period of parole supervision.
“This group conspired in a series of brazen robberies that endangered motorists targeted at random,” Sunday said in a statement.
“The fine investigative work from our partners with the state police led to these appropriate plea resolutions,” he said.
The cases were investigated jointly by the Office of Attorney General and the Pennsylvania State Police.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Alex Cashman of the Organized Crime Section prosecuted the cases, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
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