CLEARFIELD – A 25-year-old DuBois woman, Nicole E. Moore, has been sentenced to state prison for her involvement in three local gun shop burglaries, according to District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr.
In March, Officer Matthew Robertson of the DuBois City police and Sergeant Greg Neeper of the Clearfield Borough police filed three, separate criminal complaints against Moore.
Police charged Moore with criminal conspiracy – burglary; criminal conspiracy – criminal trespass; theft by unlawful taking; criminal conspiracy – theft by unlawful taking; receiving stolen property; criminal conspiracy – receiving stolen property; and criminal conspiracy – criminal mischief.
According to the criminal complaints, the L.B. Toney’s Alamo Gun Shop, DuBois, was burglarized on Aug. 28, 2013 and nine handguns were stolen. The affidavits further allege that the Bob’s Army & Navy Store, Clearfield, was burglarized on Sept. 8 and Sept 12 of 2013 and 14 handguns were stolen.
Each of the burglaries involved a male actor who smashed in the front doors to the gun shops during the late night hours. The suspect concealed his identity by wearing a mask and gloves. Additionally, video surveillance provided that during the commission of each burglary, there was a lookout and or driver in a nearby getaway vehicle, the affidavit alleges.
Upon investigation it was found that Nicole Moore acted as the lookout and was the driver of the getaway vehicle on each occasion, while her husband, Brett Moore, broke into the gun shops and stole the firearms. Brett Moore was previously sentenced to a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years of incarceration in the state prison system.
On Tuesday, Nicole Moore appeared before the Honorable Fredric J. Ammerman for the purposes of sentencing. Ammerman sentenced Moore to a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 10 years of incarceration in the state prison system. Moore was also ordered to pay more than $7,300 in restitution to the victims.
Shaw stated that he was very pleased with Ammerman’s sentence. A sentence of this magnitude, he stated, conveys a strong message that this type of criminal activity will absolutely not be tolerated in Clearfield County.
Shaw emphasized that continued efforts will be made to identify and prosecute criminals who are responsible for this type of behavior. Shaw commended the cooperative investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the DuBois City police, the Clearfield Borough police, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Clearfield County Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone with knowledge of a crime is asked to call Clearfield County Crime Stoppers at 800-376-4700. All calls to Crime Stoppers are confidential. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by visiting the Clearfield County District Attorney Web site at “www.ClearfieldDA.org” and selecting “Report A Crime.”