More charges are pending against Tyler J. Newman, the Gifford man accused in a three-county spree of vehicle thefts and robberies, police reported.
Ridgway Borough Police in Elk County stated on Monday that charges are pending against Newman, 19, for allegations that took place in the borough. While Bradford City Police in McKean County did not specifically say charges are pending in the city, they did report officers are continuing to investigate local allegations against Newman.
According to Bradford police, the alleged crime spree began at 9:05 p.m. Feb. 11, when officers were dispatched to a vehicle theft report at the UniMart, 76 Chestnut St., Bradford.
Newman took a tan 2003 GMC Yukon sport utility vehicle, and the Yukon was seen traveling south on U.S. Route 219, Bradford police stated. The Yukon would be found a short time later, abandoned in Ridgway.
At 10:15 p.m. Feb. 11, Ridgway police received a report of a robbery in the parking lot of Sheetz on North Broad Street.
Newman allegedly brandished a handgun at a female motorist there and demanded she hand over the keys to the silver 2000 Nissan Xterra SUV she had been operating. She gave him her keys, and he fled, continuing south on Route 219, police stated.
Ridgway police then issued a BOLO (Be On the Look Out) to area law enforcement agencies. They also received a BOLO from Bradford police for the stolen Yukon, and Ridgway police were able to locate the Yukon in the Elk County Foods parking lot at 1 Baker Alley. The SUV was impounded.
Newman drove the Xterra to Lawrence Township, Clearfield County, and attempted a robbery at the Sheetz along Clearfield-Shawville Highway, Bradford police stated.
Just after midnight on Feb. 12, police were dispatched to the Kwik Fill in Kylertown, Clearfield County, for a report of robbery, according to Bradford police.
About 1 a.m. Feb. 12, Rockview-based state police apprehended Newman off the Interstate 80 Snow Shoe exit. He was allegedly driving the Xterra at the time and was in possession of an airsoft gun.
Newman told police after his arrest that he killed multiple people, but “No evidence has been uncovered that would corroborate those statements to date,” Bradford police stated.
On Friday, Bradford police said they “continue to collaborate with law enforcement in Elk County and Clearfield County to determine the validity of those claims.”
Newman was arraigned before District Judge Jerome Nevling and is in Clearfield County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail for charges filed by Clearfield-based state police. He is charged in that county with robbery and theft by unlawful taking, third-degree felonies; terroristic threats, a first-degree misdemeanor; recklessly endangering another person, a second-degree misdemeanor; and harassment, a summary charge.
A preliminary hearing is set for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
This is not the first time Newman has been accused of stealing vehicles.
On Nov. 5, Newman was sentenced to nine to 23 ½ months in McKean County Jail with credit for 191 days of time served for allegations that on April 26 he stole a vehicle from his mother and tried to sell it. He was also sentenced to two years of concurrent probation.
In 2017, when Newman was a juvenile, he was accused working with another male in the theft of multiple vehicles. It is unclear how Newman’s case resolved, but his codefendant, Austin Crooks — who was an adult at the time — served jail time.
