Mar 4, 2026 2 min read

A group of seven men who robbed motorists at rest stops in 2023 pleaded guilty Monday.

According to a press release from state Attorney General Dave Sunday, the men pleaded guilty to five counts of third-degree felony robbery, and a Westmoreland County judge sentenced them each to at least three months in prison.

Charged in the case were John Black, 41, Wendell Compton, 57, Robert Murphy, 73, Darrell Noel, 41, Robert Chandler, 47, Adam Smith, 41, and Danny Williams, 51. The men are all from Cincinnati, Ohio, except for Compton, who is from Knoxville, Tenn.

In April 2023, the group targeted truckers and other drivers at the Pennsylvania Welcome Center in Donegal Township, a truck stop along Interstate 70 near Smithton in Westmoreland County, and locations in Dauphin and Somerset counties.

According to the attorney general’s office, charges related to the Washington County incident were withdrawn and were not part of the plea agreement.

Though charges were initially filed in each of the counties where the crimes took place, they were consolidated into a single case in Westmoreland County.

They worked in smaller groups, and used radio equipment in their vehicles to communicate with each other.

The men would approach motorists and claim to have extra money to give away, and offer to double the amount in their wallets. The man would then steal the cash, and in some cases jewelry, from the victims.

“This group conspired in a series of brazen robberies that endangered motorists targeted at random,” Sunday said in the release. “The fine investigative work from our partners with the state police led to these appropriate plea resolutions.”