Fayette man pleads guilty in robbery
A 23-year-old West Leisenring man who spent several years in a juvenile facility for murder agreed to plead guilty to robbery and related offenses Thursday and will spend two to four years in a state prison. Joseph Howard Savage was charged by Uniontown police for alleged robbing BFS Foods on Morgantown Street in the city on Aug. 7, three days before his 23rd birthday. He was in Fayette County Court Thursday represented by attorney Dianne H. Zerega, one of the attorneys who represented him in his murder trial.
Savage, according to court records, used a steak knife to menace a store employee and then took $115.55 from the cash register. Steven Campbell, who was reportedly with Savage during the 3:53 a.m. robbery, allegedly took three packages of cigarettes.
Campbell later told police that he and Savage were drinking at a local bar before the robbery and then went back to Campbell’s home, where Savage got the knife he allegedly used.
While this is the first time Savage will serve state prison time for a crime, this is not the first time he was in trouble with the law.
On Nov. 30, 1994, Savage and Michael J. Martin killed Walter Magda, 77, of Lemont Furnace. At the time, Savage was 15 and Martin was 13.
Savage stabbed Magda and Martin hit him with a board that had a nail protruding from it, according to court testimony in the case.
The two knew Magda and had shoveled his walk before, according to prior testimony. Police said the teens were looking for drug money when they broke into Magda’s home. The teens took $85, two watches and Magda’s car, which was found burned about a mile from his home.
While the teens were charged as adults in the murder, both successfully petitioned the court to have the case tried as juveniles. That meant that both could be sentenced to a juvenile treatment facility until they turned 21. Before his transfer to juvenile court, Savage faced the death penalty.
Mental health professionals who testified at Savage’s juvenile transfer hearing said that he suffered from depression, conduct disorders and had a history of substance abuse at the time he was arrested for killing Magda.
Ultimately, Judge Gerald R. Solomon agreed and found that Savage would be amenable to treatment in the juvenile system. The jurist also noted that prosecutors at the time did not rebut the mental health testimony offered about Savage.
Now, Solomon will find himself faced with Savage again when he hears his robbery plea next week.
In addition to the robbery charge, Savage also has a pending case for attempted robbery of the A-Plus store in Uniontown. In that case, police allege that Savage came into the store and demanded money from the clerk on New Year’s Day, but then fled, claiming he was only joking.