Getaway Car

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A woman who allegedly drove the getaway car in three Franklin County bank robberies last August is scheduled for trial next month. Rhonda A. Martin, 30, of 13361 Main St., Fort Loudon, Pa., is charged with three counts each of robbery, conspiracy and receiving, according to court records. She was listed this week for a trial without jury on Aug. 12, according to the Franklin County District Attorney's Office. Martin and co-defendant John W. Blair, 40, Fort Loudon, allegedly robbed three banks in Franklin County and four in the Carlisle, Pa., area last summer, court records show.

City police say vehicle looks like getaway car By KIMBERLY YAKOWSKI / Staff Writer Two Waynesboro, Pa. men were arrested after drug paraphernalia was found in a vehicle during a search in the city Monday morning, Hagerstown City Police said. The men were in a vehicle that matched a description of a getaway car involved in an armed robbery in Washington Township, Pa., 35 minutes earlier, police alleged. Washington Township, Pa., Police Chief Barry Keller said that in that robbery, two men entered Zack's Blue Chip Mini-Market on Buchanan Trail East just before 8 a.m. One of the men displayed a pistol and demanded cash from the clerk, he said.

A Dundalk, Md., man was sentenced in federal court Wednesday to more than 15 years in prison for conspiring to commit armed robberies of pharmacies and a Chambersburg, Pa., bank to obtain money and drugs, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Freddie Douglas Widener, 55, will also face five years of supervised release after serving the 233-month prison sentence, U.S. AttorneyRod J. Rosensteinsaid in a news release. All of the co-defendants in the case - Ernest Widener, 54, of Baltimore; Richard Adams, 53, of Baltimore; Terry Blair, 52, of Baltimore; Robert Gene Harris, 29, of Chambersburg; and Lucy Varner,  29, of Dundalk - have previously pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to their roles in the robberies, Rosenstein said.

pepperb@herald-mail.com After some hesitation, a man charged with driving the getaway car in connection with the March 14 shooting death of Jonathan M. Dennis accepted a plea bargain Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. Victor Lawrence Anderson, 26, whose last known address before his arrest was 40 W. 115th St., New York City, was sentenced by Washington County Circuit Judge W. Kennedy Boone III to serve a three-year state prison sentence.

By LISA GRAYBEAL Staff Writer, Chambersburg CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Daniel Alan Frazier waived an arraignment Wednesday in Franklin County Court and is scheduled to go to trial in September on drug and firearms charges, according to court officials. Frazier, 18, fatally shot Ernesto "Ernie" Casanova Jr. after Casanova broke into the home of Frazier's parents on Sycamore Grove Road on April 23. Frazier told police his gun went off unintentionally when he scuffled with Casanova after the break-in, according to court records.

By MARLO BARNHART Staff Writer Asa King will not be prosecuted for the Sept. 13, 1996, armed robbery of a Boonsboro bank - either in state or federal courts, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday. All state robbery charges against King were dismissed Tuesday in Washington County District Court because of insufficient evidence, according to Washington County State's Attorney Ken Long. "By law, a person cannot be convicted of a crime in Maryland solely on the uncorroborated evidence of an accomplice," Long said.

The Washington County Sheriff's Department is searching for a man who allegedly robbed the College Road Food Lion Sunday night. Deputy Kenneth Barnhart of the sheriff's department said deputies are searching for a clean-shaven black man in connection with the 8:56 p.m. robbery, which forced the store to close temporarily. Barnhart said the man possibly was armed and was in a gray or silver car. Barnhart said the man was approximately 25 years old, about 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighed 240-260 pounds and wore a black cap, a dark blue pullover shirt and light blue jeans.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Martinsburg Police and the FBI are looking for two men in connection with the robbery of Mountain Heritage Credit Union at Martinsburg Mall on Monday morning. The robbery was reported at 10:27 a.m., police said in a news release. A man entered the bank, presented a note that demanded money to a teller and took an undisclosed amount of currency from two tellers, the release said. He then fled from the bank into the parking lot, where he left in a small, dark blue sedan that was operated by a second man. The man who entered the bank is described as a black male in his early to mid- 20s, approximately 5 feet to 5 feet 5 inches tall, with a small build.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A Maryland woman was sentenced Wednesday in Franklin County Court to state prison for robbing a beauty supply store last year. Jennifer Horton, 37, of Westminster, was sentenced to 10 months to five years in prison. Judge Carol Van Horn ordered her to serve the sentence at the expiration of a sentence she is serving in Maryland. Horton pleaded guilty April 20 to the Feb. 5, 1999, holdup of Sally Beauty Supply, 251 Cedar St., according to court records. Chambersburg police records said she and Michael Clink, 28, of Manchester, Md., entered the business, said they were armed and got away with $768.

A Dundalk, Md., man was sentenced in federal court Wednesday to more than 15 years in prison for conspiring to commit armed robberies of pharmacies and a Chambersburg, Pa., bank to obtain money and drugs, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Freddie Douglas Widener, 55, will also face five years of supervised release after serving the 233-month prison sentence, U.S. AttorneyRod J. Rosensteinsaid in a news release. All of the co-defendants in the case - Ernest Widener, 54, of Baltimore; Richard Adams, 53, of Baltimore; Terry Blair, 52, of Baltimore; Robert Gene Harris, 29, of Chambersburg; and Lucy Varner,  29, of Dundalk - have previously pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to their roles in the robberies, Rosenstein said.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Martinsburg Police and the FBI are looking for two men in connection with the robbery of Mountain Heritage Credit Union at Martinsburg Mall on Monday morning. The robbery was reported at 10:27 a.m., police said in a news release. A man entered the bank, presented a note that demanded money to a teller and took an undisclosed amount of currency from two tellers, the release said. He then fled from the bank into the parking lot, where he left in a small, dark blue sedan that was operated by a second man. The man who entered the bank is described as a black male in his early to mid- 20s, approximately 5 feet to 5 feet 5 inches tall, with a small build.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Police are looking for a man who robbed the 7-Eleven in the eastern Berkeley County community of Baker Heights on Monday night. The white male took an undisclosed amount of money from a clerk after she was confronted by the man in the business at 2943 Charles Town Road about 10:40 p.m., according to West Virginia State Police. The clerk gave the man cash from the register after he reached inside the red sweat shirt he was wearing and ordered her to give him all of the money in the machine, which he immediately approached upon entering the store, police said The suspect might have parked a getaway car at the Subway restaurant across Charles Town Road from the convenience store, police said.

Chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A Shippensburg, Pa., man convicted of participating in four armed robberies in 2004 was sentenced Wednesday in Franklin County Court to three concurrent six- to 23-month jail sentences. Timothy Joshua Thomas, 19, of 1161 Means Hollow Road, had pleaded guilty last year to three counts of criminal conspiracy to commit robbery in connection with holdups at convenient stores in Franklin and Cumberland counties. "I'm going to give you a break because you cooperated with police," Judge John Walker told Thomas.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com HEDGESVILLE, W.Va. - A Martinsburg man was taken into custody minutes after a robbery at a Dollar General store Wednesday because a deputy with the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department decided to scour the back roads for the getaway car instead of the main roads leading to the store, Sgt. Willie Johnson said. William L. Offutt, of Martinsburg, W.Va., was charged with second-degree robbery in connection with the 2 p.m. incident at the Dollar General store in Hedgesville.

INWOOD, W.Va. A man wearing a mask and carrying a gun robbed the Jefferson Security Bank branch in Inwood Friday and managed to evade police, who stopped all traffic at a nearby intersection to try to find him, police said. The bank, on U.S. 11 across from Musselman High School, was robbed around 5 p.m. by a man wearing a red and yellow mask, possibly for a National Football League team, Berkeley County Sheriff Randy Smith said. The robber is described as a white man with a slender build, around 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing between 150 and 160 pounds, Smith said.

pepperb@herald-mail.com After some hesitation, a man charged with driving the getaway car in connection with the March 14 shooting death of Jonathan M. Dennis accepted a plea bargain Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court and pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. Victor Lawrence Anderson, 26, whose last known address before his arrest was 40 W. 115th St., New York City, was sentenced by Washington County Circuit Judge W. Kennedy Boone III to serve a three-year state prison sentence.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - An adult and two teenagers charged in a series of July armed robberies in Franklin and Cumberland counties waived their preliminary hearings Tuesday in Franklin County Central Court. David Joseph Bitner, 22, and Oscar Wayne Cover, 15, both of 4897 Guitner Road, Chambersburg, are each charged by Pennsylvania State Police and Shippensburg (Pa.) Police with eight counts of robbery, four counts each of criminal conspiracy and theft and one count of simple assault.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com A Chambersburg man who stole a pizza by threatening an employee with a handful of bullets was sentenced Wednesday in Franklin County Court to serve from 33 months to 20 years in state prison for that and other crimes. Robert L. Reaid Jr., 33, of 528 Stanley Ave., was also sentenced for an attempted robbery in which he used a block of wood covered with black electrician's tape and for delivery of crack cocaine, according to court records. Pennsylvania State Police charged Reaid with the Dec. 4, 2002, robbery of the Pizza Hut at 907 Lincoln Way East.

A Martinsburg hotel was the site of another robbery early Friday morning, with a mode of operation similar to that of two robberies in the previous two days. During the most recent robbery, two men walked into Comfort Suites on W.Va. 9 and asked about renting a room. When a clerk told them no rooms were available, one man asked for change for a dollar bill. After the clerk opened the register, the man slid onto the counter and grabbed cash. Telling the clerk that he had a gun, the other man warned the clerk not to move and then grabbed additional cash from the register, according to police reports.