Lawrence N. Francis

One of three African nationals charged in a nationwide online puppy scheme was released from the Butler County Prison following a bond hearing in county court on Monday.

Lawrence N. Francis, 28, was released on his own recognizance following the hearing before President Judge Thomas Doerr, after Doerr determined that Francis had been held in excess of 180 days.

Pennsylvania Criminal Procedure Rule 600 states “except in cases in which the defendant is not entitled to release on bail as provided by law, no defendant shall be held in pretrial incarceration in excess of 180 days from the date on which the complaint is filed.” Francis was entitled to be released pending the disposition of the case against him.

He was previously held in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail since May 1, 2017.

Francis faces charges of corrupt organizations, conspiracy to the previous charge, theft, theft by deception, conspiracy to theft by deception, receiving stolen property, forgery and criminal use of a communications device — all felonies after an investigation by the state police.

Francis was charged alongside two others — Lawrence N. Tchakounte, 27, and Emmenuel Nkwate, 32, all natives of Cameroon — while Francis and Tchakounte attended Slippery Rock University.

Authorities said Francis and Tchakounte were both in the United States on student visas, while Nkwate was here on a refugee visa.

Police said the system involved people looking to buy boxer puppies through Craigslist and other online sites, sent an average $700 to the three believing they were going to get a boxer puppy, but once the scammers got their hands on the money, the buyers got nothing.

For more on this story, read Wednesday’s Butler Eagle.