Jul 18, 2018 2 min read

A man accused last summer of having a methamphetamine lab in the trunk of a vehicle parked at the Trinity Point shopping center took full responsibility and asked Tuesday through his public defender that drug charges against his co-defendant be dropped.

Jody Ray Bogol, 42, according to online court documents, is serving a sentence at State Correctional Institutional at Camp Hill of 1½ to 3 years for previously operating a meth lab in Fayette County.

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty in Washington County Court to the felony charge of operating a meth lab and two counts of retail theft.

Judge Gary Gilman sentenced Bogol to 15 to 30 months in prison, concurrent with any other incarceration.

On a second count of retail theft, Gilman sentenced Bogol to two years of consecutive probation.

Assistant District Attorney Heather Serrano said Bogol will have to pay restitution to both Kohl’s department store and Walmart, and “substantial” fees to laboratories totaling more than $3,300.

Bogol’s girlfriend, Eva Kovach, 39, appeared in court Wednesday, represented by attorney Jim Jeffries.

Gilman fined her $300 in line with the terms of a deal in which Kovach pleaded guilty to a single summary count of retail theft. Prosecutors withdrew drug charges filed against her by South Strabane Township police.

Police received a report Oct. 13, 2016, of a suspicious vehicle occupied by people doing drugs. When police arrived, the car’s occupants were inside a store, but the vehicle contained a large amount of bagged merchandise.

Inside a store, police found Bogol and Kovach with a shopping cart that contained merchandise with price tags, packaging and security tags removed. Bogol reportedly had a tool to remove tags and devices.

Kovach reportedly gave police permission to search her car, which was impounded by the state police Clandestine Laboratory Response Team. Police spent five hours in the area, dealing with the meth lab in the trunk.

Gilman also ordered Bogol to be assessed for drug and alcohol abuse.