After a Hempfield woman handed over $5,000 to a man she was led to believe was a bail bondsman, she wasn’t able to get in touch with a person who claimed to be her daughter’s attorney.
Darlene Johnston, 60, testified Tuesday that she got a phone call on Feb. 28 from a woman who pretended to be her daughter and claimed to need bail money to get out of jail after a car crash. She later learned her daughter was not in trouble and the call was a scam.
“I went to the bank, but they wouldn’t give me all the money,” Johnston testified. “I tried to get $7,000 but they only gave me $5,000.”
Her testimony came during a preliminary hearing for a New Jersey man who state police said was the driver for a man accused of walking to Johnston’s house and taking the cash from her. Noel Medrano-Abreu, 29, was ordered to stand trial on two conspiracy counts.
An interpreter speaking Spanish translated the beginning of the court proceedings for Medrano-Abreu until he waived his right to have an interpreter. He is accused by police of driving Wilson Burgos-Hernandez, 23, of New Jersey, to Johnston’s home in the Midway neighborhood.
State Trooper Robert Politowski testified that he got doorbell camera footage of a man walking toward Johnston’s home that he later identified as Burgos-Hernandez with the help of Bethel Park police. Officers there investigated a similar incident the same day involving an elderly resident who reported receiving a call requesting bail money for a relative who purportedly had been arrested, according to Bethel Park Detective Giles Wright.
Authorities said they arrested Burgos-Hernandez near the home of the Bethel Park resident and Medrano-Abreu was found in a car nearby. Bethel Park Officer Jorge Zarate testified that Medrano-Abreu told him in Spanish that he was to receive $200 in exchange for driving the other suspect there and to a second location earlier in the day.
“He said he did not know where he was, but Wilson had asked him to drive to a residence, wait there while he went to go collect something,” Zarate said.
Defense attorney Joseph Pometto argued that prosecutors showed evidence of Medrano-Abreu’s involvement in the Bethel Park case, but not in the Hempfield situation.
“It’s a huge leap that the Commonwealth is asking you to make here in order to put my client at the (Hempfield) incident,” Pometto argued.
Assistant District Attorney Adam Barr said circumstantial evidence showed that Medrano-Abreu was involved in a similar incident the same day with Burgos-Hernandez.
“I don’t think that’s a leap, I think that’s just logical inferences,” Barr said.
Mansour refused to set bail for Medrano-Abreu who was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison. Pometto argued that his client does not have a criminal history and has been in the United States for 11 years.
Barr suggested a bail of $500,000 or higher if Mansour was inclined to set one, pointing to the potential flight risk given the immigration implications, if convicted.
“These kind of crimes keep happening in Westmoreland County with these scams,” Barr said.
Burgos-Hernandez refused to waive his right to an interpreter and his preliminary hearing will be held at a later date on charges of dealing in proceeds from unlawful activity and theft by deception.
The case was the second of its kind in Westmoreland County. Four men were arrested in October for similar crimes targeting senior citizens in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.
Police have issued warnings in recent months about that type of bail scam, along with a similar one that preys on the elderly. Troopers caution residents to be wary of unsolicited phone calls where the caller claims a family emergency and urgent need for money. Call-takers should verify information with family members or authorities before handing over any money or personal information.
