Sentencing Court
The following sentences were handed down Wednesday by President Judge Thomas Doerr:Thomas A. Purcell, 25, of Lyndora, sentenced to six months to one year in Butler County Prison followed by one year of probation and ordered to pay court costs. He was given credit for 227 days time-served.Purcell pleaded guilty June 19 to misdemeanor receiving stolen property. He was initially charged with two counts of receiving stolen property, after police said he was found in possession of a cell phone that was stolen in a December 2017 break-in on Summit Street in Butler.Another man, David W. Eberhardt Jr., 26, who has no known address, is facing charges of felony burglary and criminal trespass in connection with that burglary — in which police say a .40-caliber pistol was also stolen and later traded for crack cocaine — and two other break-ins from December 2017.Eberhardt remains in jail on $100,000 bail, according to online court documents.Lawrence N. Francis, 28, of Slippery Rock, sentenced to time-served to six months in Butler County Prison and ordered to pay more than $2,700 in restitution. He was given credit for nine months of time-served and agreed to forfeit frozen assets of about $12,000.Francis pleaded guilty June 21 to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in a plea deal with prosecutors that saw numerous felony charges including conspiracy, theft, forgery and corrupt organizations dismissed.Francis, who is a native of Cameroon, and two other African nationals — Lawrence N. Tchakounte, 27, and Emmenuel Nkwate, 32 — were charged last year in what police say was a nationwide online puppy scheme. Investigators say the trio bilked customers out of tens of thousands of dollars by fraudulently promising to provide boxer puppies that were never delivered.Tchakounte pleaded guilty Oct. 18 to felony corrupt organizations and was sentenced to 9 to 18 months in Butler County Prison, and was paroled on time-served. He was subsequently turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Nkwate, whose whereabouts are still unknown, is currently wanted by federal authorities.Steven R. Parsons, 34, of Butler, sentenced to six months to a year of incarceration followed by two years of probation, to run concurrently with a 2016 sentence in Washington County.Parsons was given credit for 251 days time-served and immediately paroled on the Butler County sentence, but was immediately transported to Westmoreland County on a detainer in connection with another case.In Butler County Parsons pleaded guilty June 19, in two unrelated cases, to felony concealing the whereabouts of a child and retail theft.Brannon J. Irvin, 30, of Butler, sentenced to a total of 18 months of probation and ordered to pay $1,374 in restitution after pleading guilty May 9 to misdemeanor criminal mischief and retail theft in two unrelated cases.Tyler D. Smith, 33, of Butler, sentenced to three to 12 months in Butler County Prison, followed by 12 months of county probation. He was ordered to pay court costs and complete 100 hours of community service.Smith pleaded guilty June 18 to possession of drug paraphernalia and receiving stolen property in two unrelated cases.Justin Dean, 28, of Butler, sentenced to four years of probation and ordered to pay court costs and $500 in fines.Dean pleaded guilty June 19 to two counts of misdemeanor recklessly endangering another person and a summary count of driving without a license.Tyler O. Lambing, 19, no known address, sentenced to 12 months less one day to 24 months less two days in Butler County Prison, followed by 18 months of county probation. He was also ordered to complete 48 hours of community service.Lambing pleaded guilty June 18 to criminal conspiracy and simple assault in a case filed by Butler Police; and theft and simple assault in a case filed by state police.
