Seven arrested in rest stop scams
Seven men accused of bilking travelers out of thousands of dollars at numerous rest stops throughout Pennsylvania, including the Welcome Center in Donegal Township, are jailed on robbery charges in Westmoreland County.
Charged are Darrell Marshall Noel III, 38, Robert Thomas Chandler, 44, Wendell Compton, 54, Adam Smith, 38, Danny Williams, 48, John Henry Black, 38, and Robert Dennis Murphy, 70. With the exception of Compton, all are from Cincinnati, Ohio. Compton is from Knoxville, Tenn.
According to court paperwork filed in the case, at about 4:30 p.m. April 18, state police from Washington were called to the Pennsylvania Welcome Center along Interstate 70 in Donegal Township, about five miles from the West Virginia border. A 70-year-old Canadian man told police that five men approached him and his wife at their vehicle. One of the men, later identified as Noel, was holding a large amount of cash and said he “wanted to give some of it away,” the criminal complaint states.
The suspects told the man if he showed how much money he had in his wallet, they would double it. Instead, Noel grabbed all the cash and the men ran in different directions, police said. Robbed of $200 in U.S. currency and $500 in Canadian currency, the couple told police the group fled in a sedan with a blacked-out registration.
While at the rest stop, troopers were told by a truck driver that the group had pulled the same scam on him, stealing about $200.
About an hour later, state police in Belle Vernon were called to the Flying J Truck Stop at 122 Fitz Henry Road in Smithton Westmoreland County, where three victims were told a trucker had won $50,000 in the lottery and was giving away money.
Again, the victims were asked to hand over the money in their wallets with the promise that it would be doubled. The suspects also asked for jewelry.
According to the complaint, the men grabbed one victim and removed $40,000 worth of rings from his hand. They were seen fleeing in a white sedan and gold minivan.
At about 8 p.m. the same night, the group is accused of scamming more people at a rest stop along Interstate 76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) in Somerset Township, Somerset County. Police said they asked the victims to play a card game to win money. A woman at the rest stop told police she lost an estimated $24,000 in cash and jewelry.
State police in Harrisburg notified barracks statewide that the group had attempted to scam another person at a rest stop in Grantville, Dauphin County, at about 9:30 a.m. the next day.
According to the complaint, the group then headed back toward Western Pennsylvania. Troopers were able to stop one of their vehicles at the New Stanton Service Plaza in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County. Police pulled over another vehicle of suspects on I-76 near New Stanton. A third vehicle believed to be involved in the robberies was stopped by North Huntingdon Township police on Route 30, near its intersection with Lamont Drive. All of the vehicles were equipped with radio communications equipment, according to the complaint.
Each of the men was in possession of large amounts of cash. Noel had more than $8,400, while the others had amounts varying from $1,700 to $2,700.
All of the suspects face felony charges of robbery, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, and misdemeanors of theft by deception and receiving stolen property. With the exception of Black and Murphy, all were also charged with felonies for profiting from a corrupt organization.
They are currently incarcerated in the Westmoreland County jail awaiting arraignment.