BUTLER TWP — Two state troopers said they were shopping Thursday for a rug at Target in Butler Commons when one of them noticed they were being followed by a man they had stopped several months prior for traffic violations.

Robert D. Philpot, 58, of Butler was placed in Butler County Prison Thursday on a $25,000 bond after being arraigned by District Judge Kevin O'Donnell for misdemeanor charges of stalking and retaliation against a victim or witness along with summary charges of disorderly conduct and two counts of harassment. He was released over the weekend after paying the bond.

Philpot's encounter with state police began June 30. Around 2:30 a.m., Troopers William Nadolsky and Bertha Cazy pulled Philpot over in his white Cadillac SUV for a traffic stop on Route 8 near Renfrew Road, according to a police report. Philpot became “distraught and very agitated,” the troopers observed.

They released him with just a warning, but soon after the troopers found Philpot driving behind them with his vehicle's high beams on. Once again, they pulled him over. This time they cited him for a traffic violation.

On Aug. 20, Nadolsky came face to face with Philpot at a district court summary trial in Saxonburg for the citation. Philpot was found guilty by District Judge Sue Haggerty, a decision that made him “agitated and irate,” police observed.

“I'm not done with you, trooper,” Philpot said to Nadolsky at the hearing, according to a police report.

The report states Philpot left and pulled his vehicle up to the district building's exit and sat in the vehicle. After several minutes, Philpot drove away with a person police couldn't identify.

Haggerty called the state police barracks and told them about the confrontation.

A couple of days later, Nadolsky and Trooper Nicholas Wissinger were shopping at the Target in Butler Commons. Nadolsky reported that he noticed they were being followed by Philpot.

The troopers tried to evade Philpot, according to police reports, but he continued to follow them.

As the group entered the pharmacy and cosmetics department, Wissinger turned around and confronted Philpot, the documents said.

“Can you just leave us alone?” Wissinger reportedly told Philpot.

Philpot responded that he had a right to shop there.

“I'm not done with you, trooper,” Philpot reportedly said again and then aimed what looked like a key fob at the troopers and began clicking it. The troopers said they left, using a side street to avoid Philpot who reportedly continued to yell at them.

Robert Philpot