Published Saturday, Oct. 2, 1999 District Justice Henry Russo, Hermitage, ordered robbery and weapons charges held for Common Pleas Court against Bradley Miller, 19, of 1172 Sherman Ave., Sharon; Sloane Matthews, 24, of 251 Fourth Ave., Sharon; James Byerly, 22, of 218 Wansack Road, Shenango Township; Marcus Cheeks, 26, of 414 Logan Ave., Sharon; and Michael Bailey, 21, of Sharpsville.
According to court testimony and police interviews with the suspects after their arrest:
On the night of Sept. 6, Byerly went to Miller's home in Sharon to meet up with Miller, Cheeks, Bailey and Matthews.
Police said Byerly told them the men were going to Hermitage to "jump a guy with a lot of money, $4,000 to $5,000." Miller told police the men had talked about robbing a dope dealer. Cheeks told police the man had 50 pounds of marijuana.
According to police, Miller told them Byerly drove the men to Hermitage Middle School where all but Byerly got out. The men headed toward the drug home on Dutch Lane, police said.
Police said Cheeks told police that he and Matthews were lookouts.
At around 11:30 p.m., a Hermitage patrolman got a call of a suspicious vehicle parked behind Hermitage Middle School and Hermitage Elementary School near Kilgore Trailer Park. The patrolman went to the area and found a red truck by a Dumpster near the school but did not see anyone inside.
The patrolman said he looked inside the truck and found Byerly lying down across the seat. Byerly told the patrolman he had to lay down because he had too much to drink. Byerly told the patrolman some people had been with him earlier but left.
The patrolman then checked the tailgate and found the truck's bed empty. He told Byerly he would drive him to the closest gas station where Byerly could call someone to pick him up and dropped Byerly off at a gas station on state Route 18 near East State Street.
Police said Byerly later told them he had used the time to page Miller a "911" signal and tell him the area was "hot" with police.
According to police, the patrolman had no sooner left the area than he got another call about suspicious people in the area of Kilgore Trailer Park. The patrolman said he turned around and asked Byerly to tell him the names of the people he had been with earlier.
The patrolman drove off to an alley near the trailer park with his lights off and saw the truck at the middle school speed off with its lights off.
The patrolman said he followed the speeding truck and pulled it over at 12:16 a.m. at Lamor and Keel Ridge Roads. The patrolman said Miller was now in the passenger seat and Byerly was driving.
The patrolman said both men were wearing dark clothing and long sleeves, which he said was unusual for the warm night. He said he also noticed briars on Miller's sweatshirt.
When the patrolman asked if anything was in the truck bed, Byerly responded "no." The patrolman said both men seemed nervous. There were no weapons or ammunition on either, he said.
A second patrolman arrived and saw a tarp on the bed of truck move. The patrolman said they found Bailey, Cheeks and Matthews under the tarp. Two small handguns were between Cheeks and Matthews, he said.
Police said they found two .22-caliber semi-automatic pistols, a .25-caliber handgun and .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol under the tarp. The guns were loaded, police said.
Police said they also found Cheeks had a pouch of .25-caliber bullets. In the bed of the truck were: a gas mask, black-hooded mask, two dark-colored sweatshirts, a latex glove and two rubber-coated gloves.
After their arrest at 12:30 a.m. police said Miller told them that no robbery had taken place but the men had talked about it.
According to police, Byerly and Matthews denied knowing about the guns. Police said Cheeks told them that he and Matthew did not have guns.
Miller, Cheeks, and Matthews are charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, possession of a weapon on school property, possession of a firearm without a license, and conspiracy to possess a firearm without a license and having a weapon on school property.
Bailey is charged with possession of a firearm without a license and possession of a weapon on school property as well as conspiracy on those charges.
Byerly is charged with robbery, criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to possess a weapon on school property and conspiracy to possess a firearm without a license. Charges of possession of a firearm without a license and possession of a weapon on school property were dropped against him.
Of the five men, only Matthews remains in Mercer County Jail. He is being held on a detainer from California.
