Aug 21, 2009 6 min read

WAYNESBURG – The Messenger obtained updated information on several recent criminal cases addressed in Greene County court. Robbery suspect pleads guilty A Waynesburg man charged with robbing a local gas station by knifepoint earlier this year pleaded guilty to the charges in Greene County court recently and was sentenced to serve jail time.

Michael Scott Sutton, 24, was ordered by Greene County Judge Farley Toothman during his court hearing on Aug. 13 to serve three to eight years in prison. He was also ordered to pay $2,500 in fines and $414 in restitution, according to court records.

He was given credit for time served.

Sutton was arrested and arraigned in February before Magisterial District Judge Lee Watson and charged with one felony count of robbery and one misdemeanor count each of theft, criminal conspiracy and receiving stolen property.

The charges stemmed from allegations that he was involved in a robbery that occurred at the High Street Exxon Station in Waynesburg at 9:55 p.m. on Jan. 21.

According to criminal complaints filed by Waynesburg Borough Police, officers were dispatched to the Exxon station after they were alerted by a hold-up alarm. A clerk working at the station reported to police that a man had entered the store holding a knife and demanded money and cigarettes.

After being handed over an undisclosed amount of money and six cartons of Marlboro cigarettes, the suspect left the station and fled north. Police began searching the area with assistance from Cumberland Township Police Lt. Craig Miller and a police dog, the complaints state.

Police were able to follow tracks north toward the Woodland Avenue apartments, but the tracks were lost due to heavy foot traffic. They began searching the area of the apartment complex when they were approached by a witness who said he saw two people, later identified as Sutton and Tiffany Nicole Bogumit, 24, walking quickly out of the woods and into their apartment, the complaints state.

Police then interviewed the couple at their apartment and asked permission to search the premises, which they consented to.

During their search, police found a carton of Marlboro cigarettes under a coffee table; Sutton initially told police he had purchased the carton near West Virginia, but as police inspected the carton Bogumit then told police the couple found the carton while they were “out walking” and had just returned from visiting a friend on North Porter Street, police said.

Police then questioned the friend on North Porter Street about receiving cartons of cigarettes from the couple; the friend handed them a carton of Marlboros that he said was given to him by Sutton and Bogumit, the complaints state.

The friend told police that Bogumit went to his house shortly after the time the robbery had occurred and gave him the carton as well as $25 in one-dollar bills. He also reported that Bogumit told him she had more cartons of Marlboros cigarettes for sale for $20 each, the complaints state.

During their investigation, police observed that the tax number found on each pack of cigarettes confiscated matched the numbers found on packs at the Exxon station.

Bogumit was also arrested for her involvement in the robbery; she was charged with a felony count of conspiracy to commit robbery and a misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property.

According to court records, Bogumit pleaded guilty in April in Greene County court to the charges filed against her. She was sentenced to serve one to three years in prison, as well as serve a year of probation and pay $1,000 in fines.

Township supervisor waives charges to court

A local township supervisor arrested in May on charges of possession of oxycodone and driving under the influence of alcohol following a traffic stop by state police waived his charges to court earlier this week.

State police charged Morgan Township Supervisor James Edward Gayman, 49, of Mather via a summons through Magisterial District Judge Glenn Bates’ office in Waynesburg.

The charges stem from a traffic stop on Washington Street at Chartiers Road in the Mather area at 10:43 p.m. May 24, according to a criminal complaint filed by Trooper John E. Pash of the Waynesburg barracks.

Gayman was driving a 1983 Ford F-250 north on Washington Street and turned right on to Chartiers Road without stopping at a stop sign at the intersection or using a turn signal, according to Pash’s complaint, which states he was parked on Pine Street near Chartiers Road.

Pash said he pulled Gayman over and noticed that he smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes and swayed while standing.

Results of a blood test showed he had a .146-percent BAC, according to the complaint. A driver with a BAC of .08 percent is too impaired to drive under state law.

A pill holder found in Gayman’s front pocket contained five pills, which tests revealed were oxycodone, according to the complaint.

Gayman told Pash the pills were Nexium, an acid reflux medication, according to the complaint.

Gayman was charged with possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence and three summary Vehicle Code violations for careless driving, not wearing a seat belt and failing to stop at a stop sign.

During his preliminary hearing before Bates on Monday, Gayman waived all the charges to court.

Man charged in fatal I-79 crash awaits verdict

An Alabama truck driver facing felony charges following a crash on Interstate 79 in Greene County in April 2008 that claimed the lives of two men is awaiting a verdict from Greene County court after his trial concluded earlier this week.

David Elrod, 42, of Crossville, Al., was charged by state police with two felony counts of homicide by vehicle and various traffic violations, following a three-vehicle accident in which two people, David Wimert, 46, and Terry Gene Caryl, 47, both of Port Huron, Mi., were killed.

Police said the crash occurred in the late morning hours of April 15, 2008, on I-79 south at Mile Marker 13.5 between the Waynesburg and Kirby exits.

According to reports, police said Wimert was driving a 2004 Ford Ranger in the left southbound lane and was traveling behind a tractor-trailer driven by John Venable, 53, of Eustis, Fla., when both vehicles slowed down.

However, a flatbed truck operated by Elrod failed to stop and impacted the rear of Wimert’s pickup truck, causing the pickup to slam into the rear of Venable’s tractor-trailer, police said.

Police said Wimert’s vehicle erupted in flames following impact, and Elrod’s vehicle also caught on fire. Wimert’s truck and the cab from Elrod’s tractor-trailer were completely destroyed by fire.

Wimert and Caryl, who was a front-seat passenger in Wimert’s truck, were pronounced dead at the scene by Greene County Deputy Coroner Mary Lewis.

Venable was taken to Southwest Regional Medical Center in Waynesburg for treatment of minor injuries. Elrod was not injured in the crash.

Lewis had previously described the crash as one of the worst accidents she has seen in her many years serving as deputy coroner.

Greene County Judge Farley Toothman heard testimony during the nonjury trial Tuesday and announced that he would reach a verdict in the case within seven days, according to court records.