CLEARFIELD – A Shawville man who was accused of armed robbery entered a guilty plea earlier this week.
Tyler A. Hurley pleaded guilty to three counts of both terroristic threats and harassment; robbery – take property by force; theft by unlawful taking; disorderly conduct; public drunkenness; and the purchase, consumption, possession of alcohol. Hurley’s case was scheduled to go to trial Feb. 6.
According to a Sept. 17,2008 GantDaily report, three Clearfield juvenile victims testified at the preliminary hearing, stating they had been hanging out at a home near Turnpike Avenue but left to walk to one of the other juvenile’s Weaver Street home sometime after 2 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008.
The three juveniles said then that Hurley had motioned for them to approach him on Merrill Street, where the incident occurred.
The first 16-year-old said Hurley asked for money and didn’t initially come across as threatening.
The juvenile said he told Hurley that he didn’t have any money. He said Hurley began threatening them during the course of the incident, which he said lasted approximately 10 – 15 minutes.
“He said if we didn’t come up with $5 – $10, one of us would be lying on the ground with a bullet in our head,” the 16-year-old testified.
The juvenile also testified that Hurley said, “We can do it the easy way, or the hard way.”
The juvenile said he told Hurley that he had a black BIC lighter at one point during the incident. He said Hurley asked for the lighter, which he said was in operable condition and probably valued at a $1.
He also said that one of the other juveniles threw some change that totaled less than a dollar on the ground.
“We emptied our pockets,” said a second 16-year-old juvenile during his testimony.
Although a weapon wasn’t displayed, each of three juveniles testified that they were scared and believed Hurley had a gun.
A third victim said Hurley had his hands “halfway down his pants,” as if he was holding them up. He also said Hurley’s hoody covered his hand.
“He kept moving his hand around. I thought he had a gun,” the 17-year-old said.
The three juveniles said they took off and ran, when Hurley turned his back. All three eventually ended up at a Weaver Street home. They discussed the incident with one of the juvenile’s mother who, then, contacted police.
Officer, Timothy Scott O’Leary also testified about the incident at the hearing. He said the testimonies of the three juvenile victims were similar to their written statements to police.
O’Leary said, at the time of dispatch, the priority was to locate Hurley, who was believed to be armed, since the three juveniles were at home.
He said Hurley was located on Bridge Street and unarmed but obviously under the influence.
“He had slurred speech, glossy eyes” . . .”The whole nine yards. He was staggering, when we stood him up,” O’Leary said.
He said Hurley was taken into custody and transported to the Clearfield Borough Police Department for further investigation. He said Hurley admitted to approaching the three juveniles and demanding for money.
O’Leary said Hurley had the black, BIC lighter that was given to him by one of the victims. He said he also had a regular pack of cigarettes.
O’Leary noted Hurley had a plastic wrapper, which was separate from the pack of cigarettes, and it smelled of marijuana.
“It wasn’t field tested or anything but from my experience that’s what it was,” he said.
O’Leary said Hurley claimed he was only “playing around” with the three victims and didn’t mean anything by his actions during the incident.
