CLEARFIELD – Two people involved in a shooting at a local laundromat were in Clearfield County Court Tuesday.
David J. Clark, 36, 673 Gormont Dr., Frenchville, and Amanda Elizabeth Carfley, 30, 1414 Washington Ave., Hyde, were both charged in connection with the shooting of a Philadelphia man at the Laundry Station on North Third Street in Clearfield on Sept. 5.
Clark, who was originally charged with criminal attempt/murder and criminal conspiracy/murder, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of F1 aggravated assault. He was sentenced to four and a half years to 10 years in state prison.
In a second case, he pleaded guilty to three counts of F1 burglary for crimes committed while he and Carfley were on the run from police. For this, he was given additional prison time of two to four years, bringing his total sentence to six-and-a-half to 14 years.
Carfley pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy/aggravated assault and was given four to 10 years in state prison. In her second case, she also pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary and was sentenced to three to six years in prison. Her total sentence is seven to 16 years in state prison.
Prior to sentencing, Judge Paul Cherry commented that it was lucky that the victim was not hurt more seriously or killed.
Clark’s attorney, William Fleming, noted that the incident occurred because Clark was involved with drugs. He pointed out that when Clark was taken into custody he weighed 50 pounds less than he does now, which shows the extent of his drug use.
Cherry countered this by saying Clark took the drugs voluntarily.
Carfley’s attorney, Leanne Nedza, explained that things went downhill for Carfley after her child’s death in 2007. She stated that once in custody, she cooperated with authorities and asked Cherry to give her credit for this.
She also noted that in the surveillance video, you can see Carfley is shocked and upset after the shooting, which took place in a restroom out of the range of the camera.
“Did she help the victim?” Cherry asked. “No. She took off.”
Carfley herself addressed the court, apologizing and said she was accepting responsibility for her actions.
“This probably saved my life,” she noted, because of her drug use.
Cherry pointed out that Carfley had a history of violating her probation on a previous case.
“She does not get it,” he said before announcing her sentence.
Both defendants were ordered to pay more than $11,000 in restitution.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the victim was found on the floor of the laundromat with a gunshot wound to his left buttocks, front hip/groin area and was bleeding substantially.
He told police he and another man were inside the bathroom when a man opened the door and fired a single gunshot into the room. The shooter then fled. The other man corroborated the victim’s story.
Surveillance video showed Clark and Carfley outside the laundromat and Clark entering just before the shooting. A minute later, Clark was seen running out with what appeared to be a gun in his right hand.
The couple eluded police from Sept. 5 until Sept. 22. During this time, they broke into three, different camps in Covington Township, removing food, blankets, water, sleeping bags, a solar shower, clothing, a telescope and other supplies, according to those criminal complaints.
When Carfley was interviewed by police, she said after the incident at the Laundromat they got scared and went to a trailer in Hyde to get some personal belongings and then they went to Kittanning for her doctor’s appointment.
Carfley explained they would sneak up to Clark’s father’s garage every night and take clothes, food and water. They slept in a tent while they were using methamphetamine and other types of “speed.”
