CRANBERRY TWP — Cases of robbery and access device fraud against a West View man were held for higher court following two preliminary hearings Friday, April 19.

Jessie J. Mrofchak, 21, was accused of dragging a woman on the ground while attempting to rob her of her purse last month, according to police documents. Following the attempt, he sought refuge in a nearby Hampton Inn where his mother worked.

Mrofchak was charged with felony robbery and misdemeanors drug possession and false identification to a police officer in connection to the incident. His mother, Michelle Isaacs, 46, of Pittsburgh, was charged with hindering apprehension.

Following testimony, District Judge Kevin Flaherty approved the addition of felony criminal attempted robbery and misdemeanor simple assault to the case.

Mrofchak was also accused of conspiring with his brother, James Mrofchak, 23, of Pittsburgh, to remove a man’s wallet from his vehicle and use the credit cards to make over $600 in purchases in January.

Flaherty held over both sets of charges for the Court of Common Pleas after hearing testimony from Shane Sawicki, the alleged victim of the wallet theft, and Emily Masotto, the alleged robbery victim

Sawicki said he stopped at the Sheetz on Route 228 in Cranberry Township after plowing snow on Jan. 19. He said he parked at a gas pump and went inside the store.

“I realized I didn’t have my wallet and I went back and it was gone,” he said, explaining he remembered the wallet sitting inside his truck on the center console.

Sawicki said he searched inside the gas station and his vehicle, eventually asking the Sheetz cashier to check the cameras for a theft.

Sawicki said he noticed a man with a face tattoo, later identified as Jessie Mrofchak, standing with another man, who police later identified as James Mrofchak, while he was inside the store.

A short time later, he recalled receiving a text saying one of his credit cards had been used at the GetGo on the other side of Route 228.

Township police officer James Cipriani testified he was able to identify the Mrofchaks pulling up next to Sawicki’s truck in a Ford Focus. He said James Mrofchak was seen removing something from the truck.

Cipriani also said Jessie Mrofchak was identified in surveillance footage at GetGo making purchases.

Receipts showed two of Sawicki’s cards were used to purchase $615 worth of gift cards from the gas station, according to Cipriani, and the times of the purchase match surveillance footage.

In the second case, Masotto testified to arriving at her apartment complex around 9:25 p.m. March 27, and not noticing anything strange when she did.

She said she was on the phone with her mother when she exited the car, collected her things from the passenger side, and started to make her way home.

“I went to walk toward my building and felt a tug toward my bag,” she said. “I was a bit confused as to why I felt a tug.”

She said she never heard the assailant approach, but was brought to the ground in the struggle with him.

“I was screaming as loudly as I could,” she said. “The individual made some comment of ‘Just give me the bag, let go of the bag.’”

She had dropped her phone on the pavement, but Masotto said she did not let go of the bag, and eventually the figure dressed in a black hoodie ran off.

She said she had scraped her knee and bruised her bicep during the struggle for her bag, and ran in the opposite direction of where the attempted robbery occurred.

When questioned, Masotto said she believed the suspect ran in the direction of the Hampton Inn hotel.

Township police officer Benjamin Miller said he arrived on scene and heard from patrons of the hotel that a man dressed in black had been let into the hotel by an employee.

Miller said officers searched the hotel’s vacant rooms and found food, muddy shoes, and black gloves in a room on the fourth floor.

Further down the hall, Miller said one room that was supposed to be vacant was occupied.

“We could hear music playing, and no response was given,” he said.

Isaacs and Mrofchak were discovered in the room, according to Miller, and Mrofchak was wearing a black sweatshirt and black pants as described by witnesses.

Miller said Mrofchak did not provide his correct identification until he was told he would be fingerprinted.

Defense attorney Benjamin Levine later asked Miller if there was any footage of the attempted robbery, to which Miller responded there was not.

Following testimony, assistant district attorney David Beichner requested charges of criminal attempted robbery and simple assault be added to the case, and Levine objected.

“I don’t know how (the original charges) plus alleging an actual robbery occurred from the same conduct can go through,” he said.

Flaherty approved the amendments and held charges over for court.

A request to increase Mrofchak’s $100,000 bond was denied, and he remains in Butler County Prison.

This story was updated at 11:11 a.m., Monday, April 22, to reflect the correct date of the alleged robbery. A previous version of this story incorrectly said it occurred March 22.