CLEARFIELD – A man accused of burglary, theft and forgery among other crimes was recently sentenced to state prison during colloquy court in Clearfield County.
Robert Joseph Gavlock, 36, of Frenchville and an inmate of the jail, pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy/burglary and forgery in one case, criminal mischief, theft and possession of a controlled substance in a second, theft by unlawful taking in a third, forgery and theft in a fourth and possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia in a fifth case. He was sentenced to a total of 27 months to five years in state prison. He was fined $34 plus costs and must pay restitution of more than $1,800. Gavlock was also ordered to complete drug and alcohol counseling.
Prior to sentencing, he said he took full responsibility for his actions and realizes what he did was wrong.
According to the affidavit of probable cause in the burglary case, Gavlock and Merrill Lonjin Jr. entered a residence in Goshen Township through an unlocked door on Oct. 23. They removed a home entertainment center, a wrist watch and three checks with the victim’s name on them. They sold the items to a pawn shop and used the money for drugs. Gavlock issued one of the checks to Lonjin for $400 but a bank would not cash it.
Lonjin who faces similar charges was also scheduled for sentencing but his case was continued.
The criminal mischief case occurred on Dec. 23 at the Clearfield Hospital when Gavlock was in the emergency room to have his eyes examined. After he was released, an employee noticed a container had been removed from the wall. It was later found inside a linen basket. It was unknown how many syringes may have been in the box. A few months later a vehicle Gavlock was driving was stopped.
The officer explained the accusations from the hospital to him and asked to search the vehicle. Gavlock agreed to a search stating he had syringes because of his current medication. Officers found a blue ophthalmology burr alger brush with the letters “ED” and “do not remove” on it, a small mirror with white residue, four liboderm lidocaine patches, a baggie with four spoons with white residue, six syringes, a razor blade, string and scissors in the vehicle.
Employees of the ER were able to identify the burr as the one missing from their eye medical kit which is used to remove metal from the eye. It was valued at $257.
The theft case is from Sept. 1, 2012 when a stolen vehicle from Lawrence Township was recovered in Clearfield Borough. The vehicle had been removed from a residence where it was being repaired. The victim told the mechanic she did not give anyone permission to move the vehicle. A tip from another individual to the mechanic indicated Gavlock was involved. He gave Gavlock’s contact information to the victim. When contacted, Gavlock told the victim that he took it because the mechanic took his van and did not return it in time.
On Sept. 7, 2012, the victim in the forgery and theft case reported that Gavlock cashed checks that he had never written out to him. When asked about this, Gavlock claimed he was given the checks for money the victim owed him.
The marijuana and drug paraphernalia case occurred on Dec. 17, 2011. Curwensville Borough police responded to a domestic dispute, where they found Gavlock, who had in his possession a pipe with residue and a tin can with marijuana residue and seeds.