Lambing awaits extradition from W.Va. to face 10 felonies
A Butler felon remains in a West Virginia jail awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania to face charges that he and a 17-year-old girl stole a car, guns and other items from her father's house in Middlesex Township and headed south.
An extradition hearing for Tyler O. Lambing, 20, is still pending. He is charged with 10 felonies: burglary, three counts each of theft and receiving stolen property, conspiracy, and two counts of illegally possessing firearms.
His suspected teenaged accomplice is being held at the Jefferson County Juvenile Detention Center in Steubenville, Ohio. The girl is awaiting a date in Butler County juvenile court on her own charges.
The Butler Eagle will not identify the girl due to her age. She is charged with eight felonies: three counts each of theft and receiving stolen property and two counts of conspiracy.
Meanwhile, details continue to emerge about how West Virginia police caught the pair.
Lambing's run from the law ended with him alone and apparently too tired to keep his head up at a table next to a McDonald's restaurant bathroom.
The caper began April 12 at the girl's home on Route 8 in Middlesex Township.
Sometime that Friday, authorities said the girl telephoned her father and told him she was not going to school. Middlesex Township police said the teen told her father that she “was picking up a friend from jail.”
Authorities believe that friend was Lambing. They also suspect she stole her father's 2010 Toyota Camry and took off with Lambing around noon.
Her father returned to the house around 3:45 p.m. He told authorities he discovered two guns — an AR-15 rifle and a 9 mm pistol — were missing along with his car, as well as loaded ammunition magazines, an expensive watch and other items.
The pair headed 125 miles south to White Hall — a small town in northern West Virginia about 20 miles outside Morgantown. Middlesex Township police Sgt. Randy Davison said the girl and Lambing ended up there that same night for reasons unknown.
Around 10 p.m., the teen's father notified Middlesex police that his daughter called her aunt from the White Hall Walmart and asked her to send money via a wire transfer. West Virginia authorities were notified of the couple's whereabouts.
“I drove to Walmart and sure enough, I found her,” said White Hall police officer Glen Staley. “She wasn't very cooperative.”
Staley recounted finding the girl alone in the front passenger seat of her father's Toyota. She admitted being with “Tyler,” but allegedly provided police with a less-than-honest description of him in an effort to throw off authorities. She also assured police Tyler was not armed.
Staley allegedly found the two reportedly stolen guns in the trunk of the car. He also turned up pills and what appeared to be marijuana.
Police searched the store and parking lot for Lambing, but there was no sign of him, which didn't surprise Staley.
“We suspected he saw her in trouble,” the officer said, “and figured he was on the run.”
A review of store surveillance video appeared to confirm that theory.
The footage showed Lambing entering the store, presumably to handle the wire transfer, according to police. He then is seen coming out to the sight of several police cruisers.
“He walked way,” Staley said. “He was trying to keep cool and not try to draw attention to himself.”
A number of police cars, lit up, stood outside the store in the tiny town. Customers and rubberneckers stopped to gawk and shoot video from their cell phones.
While police began their manhunt for Lambing, they drove the girl to the Fairmont police station. She was held at the station and fed, but wasn't talking. Staley said the teen had “an attitude.”
The girl's father, however, was appreciative according to the officer.
“I think he was relieved she was caught and not out running around,” Staley said.
West Virginia authorities eventually allowed the girl's father to come and pick her up, knowing that Middlesex police would file juvenile charges against her. She was arrested Saturday at her grandmother's Penn Township home.
White Hall police continued their search for Lambing on Saturday. Staley said it was more of a waiting game than a search.
“We figured he'd turn up sometime; it was just a matter of time,” he said. “He was stuck in our area.”
Lambing had little to no money, was unfamiliar with the area, and didn't know anyone in White Hall.
Around 7 p.m. Saturday, someone called police to report a suspicious man at a McDonald's in neighboring Fairmont. The caller's description of the man matched that of Lambing.
Fairmont police arrived at the fast food restaurant located just five miles from the White Hall Walmart. A White Hall officer was not far behind.
Authorities soon confirmed Lambing's identity.
Police report Lambing was sitting with his head down at a table near the bathroom. Authorities took Lambing to the North Central Regional Jail in Doddridge County on the Middlesex police arrest warrant. He also is being held on a Butler County probation detainer.
Staley said West Virginia authorities declined to charge Lambing themselves, as the Pennsylvania charges are more serious than any West Virginia could file.
