CLEARFIELD – The first of five area men accused of a conspiracy to assault and rob a man whom they left naked was scheduled for sentencing Monday.
The charges stem from an incident on Oct. 6 at a Powell Avenue residence in Hyde where the man was attacked, police say.
One of the defendants reportedly admitted that they targeted the victim because they knew he had drugs. A bag containing 21.75 grams of crystal methamphetamine was recovered from one of the suspects.
John L. Irwin, 40, of DuBois is one of the two charged with assaulting the victim using baseball bats, forcing him to remove his clothes and stealing his wallet and phone before ordering him to leave the scene.
Irwin was sentenced Monday by President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman to serve three to six years in state prison for felony counts of conspiracy/theft by unlawful taking, and theft by unlawful taking, as well as misdemeanor unlawful restraint, terroristic threats and possessing instruments of crime, according to a court employee.
In a separate drug case, Irwin was given a concurrent period of incarceration of 27 months to six years in state prison.
The criminal complaint details how the victim was driving around with Bradley Alan Maines, 47, of Woodland before they went to the Hyde residence and Maines met with Paul Harold Hoyt, 34, of Curwensville.
Once on-scene, Maines exited the victim’s truck and talked with Hoyt as they walked around the property. After the victim got out of the vehicle, he said two men came from behind him, striking him in the legs/shin area with baseball bats, he told officers.
They assaulted him and ordered him to take off his clothes before robbing him and forcing him to leave.
The victim explained he ran and hid on a property near Riverview Road. There, he found a box near a church with clothing, which he put on to “make himself look decent.” After this, he went to a nearby home for help.
He said he did not know who the two men that attacked him were as they were wearing masks. Later he named Irwin, and Jason Roy Sipe, 44, of Hyde as suspects.
While investigating the incident that night, a police officer spotted Taylor James Wisor, 35, of Hyde and Hoyt, 34, who was wanted by state parole, in Wisor’s vehicle as it entered the Hyde car wash and stopped in a manual wash bay. Hoyt was in the passenger seat.
While he spoke with Wisor, Hoyt was moving around and reaching numerous times into the center console. After the officer spotted a metal tube style pipe, he requested another officer remove Hoyt from the vehicle to detain him as part of the investigation.
When Hoyt was checked for weapons, the other officer found a knife and saw. He also reportedly found a container with approximately one ounce of crystal methamphetamine.
Wisor consented to a search of his vehicle where police found a wooden bat on the floor of the back seat. They also found the victim’s cell phone and case.
On Oct. 10, police found Sipe in the yard of the Powell Avenue residence and took him into custody for a state parole warrant.
In his interview, Sipe said there were “issues” between Irwin and the victim based on an incident involving Irwin’s girlfriend. He said Irwin told him to grab the wooden bat and stand there while he had the metal bat.
When Sipe was asked why he would listen to Irwin, he explained how he owed him drug money.
Sipe admitted the whole incident was “over drugs” because the victim had been selling them.
Sipe has also signed a plea agreement and is scheduled to be sentenced in September. Hoyt has agreed to plead guilty with his sentencing set for August.
Charges against Maines and Wisor are still pending, according to online court documents.