CLEARFIELD – The two-day trial for a DuBois man accused of the robbery and assault of a woman in the DuBois Burger King parking lot, began on Tuesday.
Richard William Smeal, 60, is also facing the additional charges of theft by unlawful taking, terroristic threats and receiving stolen property for his alleged actions on June 11, 2024.
During her testimony, the victim, Kristal Buck, was often emotional as she recalled the night of the incident which happened just after she closed the restaurant on East DuBois Ave. at 12:35 a.m. and walked to her car in the parking lot.
As she opened her car door, she placed her purse which had the business’s bank deposit in it, on the passenger seat. When she tried to close her car door, she saw a man wearing a hoodie and mask, holding a gun, who asked for her purse. She refused to give it to him and he punched her in the face. She started “laying on the horn”, and yelling for help.
The man who was struggling with her, fell and the purse went across the parking lot. She got out of the car and got it, as the man grabbed her hair and started to kick her. She kicked him back.
He kept yelling, “give me the money”, she said. She added that she forgot she had the deposit in her purse because “I was panicking.” She offered him $20 that was in her wallet. At this point, the wallet was no longer in the purse but was lying in the lot.
He saw the wallet and dragged her by the hair to where it was. She gave him $20 and he demanded more.
“I was on my knees. I said I don’t have any more money and he hit me with the butt of the gun.” He also started kicking her.
During the scuffle she was able to pull down his mask as he screamed “don’t look at me.” She saw enough of him that she was able to positively identify the defendant in the courtroom.
Suddenly she heard a car drive up and was surprised to see her best friend and her boyfriend in the vehicle. Buck screamed for her to help. The robber then tried covering her mouth, and she bit him.
When asked to describe the gun by District Attorney Ryan Sayers, Buck said it was an AK style weapon but it was not as heavy as a real gun.
After the other car arrived, the man fled. Her friend, Hayle Fye, called 911. A second car, whose occupants had heard her screams, pulled up and talked to her. Emergency Medical Services personnel arrived along with police. Buck said she decided not to go to the hospital that night.
“I just wanted to go home.” But later in the day she did seek medical care because she was in pain.
Photos of the bruises on her face and legs taken that night were shown to the jury. She explained the bruising got “so much worse” later. She began crying again after viewing the injuries.
The accomplice in this case, John Lentz Jr., who allegedly drove Smeal to Burger King, had actually worked the same shift with her a few months earlier, she testified. She confirmed that she never saw Smeal before that night.
It was noted that Buck no longer works for Burger King because she no longer wanted to work the closing shift.
Hayle Fye testified that she had just picked up her boyfriend from work when she was passing through the area. She heard the screams and recognized Buck’s voice. She reversed the car and went into the parking lot where she heard Buck yell “help me Hayle!” She saw Buck on the ground in the middle of the lot, crying hysterically.
Sayers played a recording of the 911 call during which the jury could hear Buck crying as she described the robber as an older guy who was about 5’2”.
Fye said that Buck was “terrified and inconsolable.”
Cpl. Ken Kiehleier was the first officer on the scene and spoke to Buck and her friends. He testified that another witness saw a gray/silver Ford Fusion fleeing the area and followed it until it headed toward Homewood Suites on Industrial Drive. Kiehleier searched the area but was unable to find it.
Trisha Romanic of Weedville who was in the car that followed the suspects, testified that she and her daughter were traveling in the area of the assault when they stopped at a light and heard screaming. She saw a vehicle leaving the parking lot and they followed it. She called 911 because her daughter was driving, she said. Romanic’s call was also played for the jury.
In it, she told officials the vehicle was a gray Ford Fusion and they were following it. She was advised not to approach the car. They saw the car go into the parking lot of the hotel. They pulled over and kept watch on both exits in case the vehicle left the area. She and her daughter stayed there until police arrived and began searching for the car.
During cross-examination by defense attorney, Joseph Ryan, Romanic said they approached the suspect vehicle that was stopped at a light, asking if everything was alright before it took off. She saw two people in the car but couldn’t remember if the second person was in the front or back of the vehicle.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, other officers were able to get the license plate of the vehicle before it drove over a sidewalk into a grassy area between the hotel and Buck’s Pizza and they lost it.
It was traced to one of Smeal’s family members who said Smeal had it the night of the incident. Later information was received that Smeal was at a residence in DuBois but was headed to Penfield. At that Penfield home, they found Lentz who admitted to driving Smeal to Burger King and dropping him off at a nearby stop sign. Smeal had reportedly told him he wanted to “knock some place off and get money.”
After he returned to the car, Lentz said they avoided police by him driving over a curb and grassy area before going to Penfield.
Lentz is also facing charges of robbery, theft and fleeing or attempting to elude officer in this case which is pending.
Smeal’s trial is expected to wrap up on Wednesday.
