City man pleads guilty to taking woman's wallet
A Butler man charged with robbing a woman of her wallet pleaded guilty in Butler County Court on Tuesday, and will be sentenced to the state Intermediate Punishment Program.
Preston R. Bartmas, 33, entered a plea of guilty to felony robbery and misdemeanor theft before county Judge Timothy McCune.
He will be transferred to the custody of state correctional authorities to undergo a state Intermediate Punishment Program evaluation, and if accepted, will be sentenced to the program later by video conference.
Bartmas was initially charged with felony robbery, misdemeanor theft and receiving stolen property after an incident on April 16.
Butler police said Bartmas snatched a wallet from a 48-year-old woman's hand as she walked on Center Avenue.
Jeanette Tilley of Butler told police that she was walking about 9:20 p.m., when Bartmas approached her from behind on Center Avenue near Cliff Street, startling her, according to court documents.
The woman said Bartmas was under the influence and grabbed her wallet and ran away before getting into a vehicle which drove off.
Bartmas was arrested several days later and has been held in the Butler County Prison on $30,000 bail. He also had three probation violation cases in result of these charges, which will be resolved as part of the plea at the time of sentencing. He will be sentenced on those cases to the state Intermediate Punishment Program to run concurrent.
