SMETHPORT — Three men pleaded guilty to charges on Wednesday in McKean County Court from a “personal property theft ring” across the county in October and November of last year.
Cameron Causer, 19, of Crosby, Mark Schneider, 19, of Port Allegany, and Trevor Elder, 20, of Smethport, all entered pleas to related charges. The special prosecutor for the cases was Deputy Attorney General William Caye.
All three were granted plea agreements contingent upon their cooperation in the case against co-defendant Garrett Hoy, Caye explained to Visiting Judge William Morgan, who was presiding over the cases.
Caye explained Kane-based state trooper Mary Gausman had been investigating a series of break-ins to “non-occupied structures,” in which items, including all-terrain vehicles and chainsaws were taken and sold to unsuspecting victims via pennswoods.net or by taking them to McKean Supply for cash.
All three who pleaded guilty will be sentenced at 1 p.m. June 19.
Causer pleaded guilty to conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property. Caye said Causer and Hoy exchanged text messages planning a crime in which an all-terrain vehicle was stolen and sold to someone else through the website pennswoods.net. Causer admitted his involvement in the sale of the ATV to police.
Schneider pleaded guilty to theft by deception, theft by receiving stolen property and conspiracy. Caye said Hoy arranged break-ins to secure property, in this case, a chainsaw which Schneider then sold to McKean Supply. He was identified from video surveillance and confessed his involvement in the incident, the prosecutor said.
In Elder’s case, Hoy used a cell phone to communicate his intentions to break in to a structure, steal a chainsaw and sell it, Caye said. A chainsaw was stolen in Smethport and sold to McKean Supply. Elder confessed his involvement in the offenses to police, the prosecutor said.
State police identified Hoy, Causer, Schneider, Elder and three other people in connection with the property theft ring, according to court records.
Also in court on Wednesday, 24-year-old Smethport man Nathan Hoy entered guilty pleas to charges of theft, access device fraud and criminal mischief.
According to Caye, between Dec. 30 and 31, Hoy used a check belonging to his grandmother to obtain $50 worth of items at Costa’s Supermarket in Smethport.
Hoy was sentenced to 18 months probation, to be served concurrently with a prior probationary sentence for charges of theft stemming from January 2013.
