Photographs and videos shared by two accused burglars led to a second arrest in connection with a $65,000 heist in Derry Township, state police investigators said in court documents.
Lenoxx R. Newcomer, 22, of Johnstown was arraigned this week on charges of burglary, criminal trespass, receiving stolen property and theft. He was ordered to remain in SCI Smithfield in Huntingdon County, where he has been lodged on a parole violation since late June.
Tyrus Martin, 21, who has addresses in Johnstown and Whitehall, was arrested June 6 on a warrant after troopers received a tip from a woman who reported she drove the vehicle that investigators connected to a May 29 burglary on Pandora Road, according to court documents. Martin is being held in the county jail without bail after state police said he was illegally in possession of a gun at the time of his arrest.
The informant has not been charged.
In addition to the cash, five handguns were stolen, troopers revealed in court papers this week.
After Martin’s arrest, Newcomer made several telephone calls to the county jail and spoke with Martin about “a recent acquisition of a large amount of currency,” troopers said. After the burglary, they said, investigators retrieved video from Live! Casino Pittsburgh in Hempfield, where Newcomer displayed “large amounts of cash.”
Newcomer’s cellphone was seized when he was taken into custody June 23 by state parole agents in connection with 2019 convictions in Cambria County for assault and illegal possession of firearms, troopers said. Agents told troopers they observed “messages (and) photos … relating to the recent acquisition of $65,000.”
“Multiple pictures and videos were observed of Newcomer and Martin displaying a large amount of currency,” Trooper Jason Kinger said.
Newcomer’s preliminary hearing is Aug. 18. Derry District Judge Kelly Tua Hammers set his bond at $150,000. He did not have an attorney listed in court documents.
