Charleroi man and son-in-law charged
A Charleroi man and his son-in-law face charges after the older man failed to report to Washington County jail following his sentencing in a 2015 stolen-gun case.
Michael B. Jolly, 56, and Samuel E. Miller, 33, also of Charleroi, each faces charges of conspiracy and flight to avoid apprehension filed Wednesday by Washington County detectives. Common pleas Judge Michael Lucas sentenced Jolly Jan. 30 to 6 ½ to 13 years in state prison on a charge of conspiracy, two firearms violations and six counts of receiving stolen property. A jury found Jolly guilty in the fall on the charges stemming from allegations he persuaded a woman to steal six firearms from a Washington man’s home where she was staying.
Miller was one of several family members who testified on Jolly’s behalf during the sentencing hearing. Lucas ordered Jolly to report to jail following the hearing, but surveillance footage allegedly shows Jolly leaving the main entrance to the courthouse and heading south on Main Street. An acquaintance of Jolly’s who had been at the hearing later told a detective he saw Jolly and Miller get into a dark-blue, “SUV-type vehicle” together.
Lucas issued a bench warrant that day when Jolly failed to report at the jail. Attorney Molly Maguire Gaussa, who represented Jolly at his sentencing, couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.