Man accused of lending car for disposal of body released
A second bond reduction attempt for a Lyndora man accused of lending the vehicle used by another man to dispose of Melissa Barto's body was successful in Butler County Court on Friday.
Joshua W. Bowser was released from the county jail pending the resolution of the charges against him.
Bowser, 22, was released onto pretrial supervision with the Butler County Adult Probation Office after a hearing before President Judge Thomas Doerr.
Bowser was previously held in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail, after being charged June 13 with felony hindering apprehension, misdemeanor criminal conspiracy to commit abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence, in the homicide investigation regarding the shooting death of Barto on June 8.
His attorney, Ken Harris, argued that Bowser had been held in excess of 180 days, and pursuant to Pennsylvania Criminal Procedure Rule 600, which states “except in cases in which the defendant is not entitled to release on bail as provided by law, no defendant shall be held in pretrial incarceration in excess of 180 days from the date on which the complaint is filed,” he is entitled to be released pending the disposition of the case against him.
Assistant District Attorney Terri Schultz said she was not opposed to the release due to the Rule 600 issue, but asked Bowser be placed on pretrial supervision to be monitored pending disposition.
She said the case would normally have been disposed by this time, but has not been brought to trial because of the nature of the charges and the underlying homicide case.
“We may ask Mr. Bowser for his testimony,” she said in court.
Harris said the standard range for the charges if convicted is a minimum of three months, to which Bowser has already served double behind bars.
“Discovery has been difficult in this case because the evidence is interwoven with the homicide case, and the Commonwealth has the luxury of not having bail as an issue in that case,” he said. “This is not normally an issue we face, a Rule 600 issue tied to a homicide.”
Bowser was charged by the state police in connection with Barto's death, after allegations that he lent Ishemer Ramsey, 21, also of Lyndora and another man — James E. Howard-George, of Butler, who also faces charges in the incident — his vehicle — a tan 2004 Pontiac Grand Am — to dispose of Barto's body.
Police allege Ramsey, Barto's boyfriend, shot and killed her in his vehicle on June 8, during an argument over his belief that she had been unfaithful.
Barto's remains were later found badly burned in Neshannock Township, Lawrence County. She was reported missing after failing to show up for her daughter's kindergarten graduation.
Bowser later told police that “he knew Ishemer Ramsey was borrowing the vehicle to dispose of the body of Melissa Barto,” troopers testified during his preliminary hearing.
Police said blood evidence was found in the vehicle on the carpeted area of the spare tire location in the trunk following a search warrant.
Ramsey was charged with criminal homicide and related counts, while Howard-George was charged with conspiracy to commit homicide. Both continue to be held without bail.
A fourth person, Justin M. Johnson, 19, was also charged in the investigation with felony hindering apprehension or prosecution and misdemeanor false reports to law enforcement authorities on allegations that after Ramsey's arrest, Johnson made efforts to interfere with the investigation by providing an alibi for him.
Johnson was also held on $100,000 bail, before being released onto pretrial supervision following a bond modification hearing of his own in September.
