Men charged in bear theft make restitution
After seven men charged in the theft of a stuffed Russian bear made restitution to the victim in the case, Fayette County prosecutors dropped charges in the matter.
The men made $8,722 in restitution on Tuesday to John El-Ayazra, owner of Sam’s Restaurant and the Eagle’s Nest bar in Uniontown.
The men charged told police that taking the bear from the Morgantown Street bar was a prank. Police identified the men as Nathan Allen King, 23; Jarred Hackney, 23; Jordan Lonigro, 20; and Andrew Schiffbauer, 25, all of Uniontown; Justin Edward Nelson, 21, of Dunbar Township, John Freed, 23, of Menallen Township and William Gordon III, 24, of Chalk Hill.
Around 2 a.m., the men tossed the standing-mount bear, a fixture in the bar, from a second-floor deck at the bar to a concrete patio below, police said.
That broke the base the bear was mounted on and damaged its face and paws, police said. At some point, some of the men returned and took the animal.
The theft was the subject of reports in the media, and at some point, some of the men contacted El-Ayazra and told him they took the animal as a prank and intended to return it once it had been fixed.
Police eventually recovered the bear at a home on Lawn Avenue in the city on Sept. 22.
All but Schiffbauer were charged with theft, conspiracy to commit theft and receiving stolen property.
Schiffbauer faced only one count of receiving stolen property.