Woman sentenced to prison for home invasion
WAYNESBURG – A homeless woman who entered an 85-year-old Franklin Township woman’s home in March and held the woman down while her partner ransacked the house was sentenced Monday to 18 to 48 months in prison.
Mary Ann McChesney, 33, had been found guilty by a Greene County jury in October of all charges against her, including robbery, theft, unlawful restraint, simple assault and conspiracy.
Judge William Nalitz, who presided at the trial and the sentencing, also ordered McChesney to pay the victim, Anna Mayhle, $1,530 in restitution.
McChesney and Matthew Gabriel Barth, 29, also listed as homeless, robbed Mayhle March 3 at Mayhle’s home on Greenhouse Road.
Police said McChesney knocked on Mayhle’s door between 6 and 6:30 p.m. that day and asked to use the telephone, claiming she had run out of gas.
Mayhle allowed McChesney to enter the home. McChesney then pushed Mayhle into a recliner and held her by the wrists in a seated position while Barth entered and ransacked the home in search of money.
Police said Barth had a gun. The pair fled with Mayhle’s purse and about $1,400. Mayhle was not injured.
Neighbors’ description of the alleged robbers’ vehicle and collaboration between state and Waynesburg police led to the couple’s arrests.
In arrest documents, state police Trooper Jay Hundertmark said he received a description of a vehicle parked near the home from neighbors. Hundertmark said he discussed the robbery with Waynesburg Patrolman Tom Ankrom, who indicated he had stopped McChesney and Barth in a vehicle of the same description within the past month.
Police arrested the pair at 300 Moffit Road near Dilliner May 14.
Barth pleaded guilty to the charges against him in August and was sentenced to 41 months to 10 years in prison.
McChesney also was sentenced to a concurrent sentence for a burglary she and Barth committed between March 1 and 2 at 468 Sugar Run Road. The couple stole a flat-screen monitor, software, videotapes and other items.