Raheem Archer

A Butler Township man, charged with using the bank debit card of a man killed last year in his East Butler home, pleaded guilty in Butler County Court on Wednesday.

Raheem R. Archer, 24, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and receiving stolen property before Judge Timothy McCune.

The plea agreement calls for a sentence of 24 months probation, restitution fines and costs. He is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 28.

Archer was initially charged with felony possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, receiving stolen property and access device fraud, after the investigation into the use of 74-year-old homicide victim James S. Martin's bank card.

The paraphernalia charge to which he pleaded was later added, and the remaining charges will be dismissed as part of the plea.

Archer was charged alongside Christopher M. Cannon, 27, of Butler, following an investigation into the use of Miller's bank card after his body was found on Dec. 31.

A friend visiting Martin for a breakfast date found him dead at his home on Tenth Street. An autopsy ruled that he died of multiple stab wounds to the head, neck, chest and back.

Police say Cannon, Archer and Shauna Cress used Martin's bank cards several times after his death, according to court documents.

On the night of Dec. 30 and in the early hours of Dec. 31, Cannon and Cress were allegedly captured on security cameras using the cards to make purchases at Walmart and Sheetz, both in Butler Township, and at the Longhorn Corral in Franklin Township, where Cress had rented a room.

Later in the day on Dec. 31, one of Martin's cards was denied and the other one was accepted at the Giant Eagle in Center Township for a $413.09 purchase. Store records show that Archer's Giant Eagle Advantage card was swiped both times.

Also on Dec. 31, Cannon and Archer were seen on surveillance footage making a $206.95 purchase at a Giant Eagle in Beaver County with one of Martin's cards.

Archer and Cannon were arrested Jan. 5 and charged. Archer also was charged with the felony drug possession count after police say they found a half-dozen baggies of marijuana in the trunk of his car.

Archer remains free after posting $5,000, and is awaiting sentencing.

Cannon was later charged with stabbing Martin to death on Dec. 30 and robbing him of valuables, including bank cards, after arranging a private meeting through Craigslist.

He awaits further court proceedings on charges of homicide, robbery, theft by unlawful taking, access device fraud and conspiracy, and is being held in the county prison without bail.