A man was convicted Wednesday of charges that he illegally possessed a gun and drugs when he was found in a North Huntingdon motel with a runaway teenager from Beaver County.
Robert Easley, 42, formerly of Ohio, claimed during a three-day trial in Westmoreland County that police planted a handgun and marijuana when they barged into his room at the Hiland Terrace Motel on June 15, 2022. Easley testified he agreed to shelter the homeless female after she entered a McKeesport convenience store where he worked as a clerk. He said he believed she was an adult.
Jurors deliberated just one hour before returning guilty verdicts against Easley on a felony firearms offense, possession of a stolen gun and illegal possession of 55 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Prosecutors previously dropped one count of corruption of a minor in connection with the teen runaway.
Authorities said the circumstances of the runaway were part of a separate investigation that did not result in additional charges filed against Easley.
Police officers testified they responded to a tip from law enforcement in Beaver County about the suspected whereabouts of the runaway and asked to search Easley’s motel room. Investigators said the gun and drugs were found in the room, along with the 16-year-old girl, who was not identified during the trial.
Easley was the lone witness in his defense and testified he had no prior knowledge that a gun was in his motel room and suggested the weapon and a bag of ammunition were planted by police during the search. He conceded he had marijuana for his personal use but claimed police placed a larger amount of the drugs in his room in an effort to implicate him in more serious crimes.
He told jurors he falsely admitted to possessing the gun as a means to avoid being charged with offenses related to the teen’s presence in his motel room.
“I never saw that gun before,” Easley testified. “I told them I’m not going to have my name on a website and register everywhere (as a sex offender). I’ll take the gun and weed charges. I can do the time, a couple of years,” Easley said.
Because of a prior felony conviction in Michigan, Easley is not permitted to possess a gun in Pennsylvania, according to Assistant District Attorney Steven Reddy.
Reddy, in his closing statement to the jury, defended the police’s investigation.
“This is a case of the North Huntingdon police doing their job. They were investigating a tip of a missing girl. The evidence speaks for itself,” Reddy said.
Easley had been been free on a nominal bond since November. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio revoked his bond and ordered Easley remain in jail until he is sentenced in about three months.
