Pair charged in robbery of Ligonier Township tavern

LIGONIER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Two men are accused of stealing $1,364 from a Ligonier Township bar while holding two employees at gunpoint.

Richard Lenhart, 31, formerly of Derry and Andrew Brunetto, 19, formerly of Levittown, Bucks County, have been charged by state police with conspiracy, robbery, theft by unlawful taking, false imprisonment and simple assault in connection with an incident last June at Bull's Tavern along Route 30.

Both men were jailed on robbery charges in July for allegedly pointing a BB gun and a pistol-shaped lighter at patrons in Kingston Veterans and Sportsmen Club along Kingston Club Road in Derry Township. The case was transferred in August to the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, police spoke with Brunetto and his attorney last month, at which time Brunetto said he and Lenhart robbed Bull's Tavern.

Brunetto told police that after entering the back door of the bar, the two men pointed guns at two female employees and demanded money, according to the affidavit. Brunetto said he took about $200 from an area near a stainless-steel sink.

He said Lenhart asked the employees if they thought he was an idiot and asked, "Where's the real (expletive) money at?" according to the affidavit.

Brunetto told police that Lenhart directed one of the employees to get other money from the bar. Lenhart stated he would go with her to the bar to get the other money, but the employee told him that she was concerned a patron would see him, according to the affidavit. Brunetto told police that the employee returned with "a lot" of money and gave it to Lenhart.

Brunetto said Lenhart then told the employee that she was coming with him, and the three left Bull's Tavern through the kitchen door, according to the affidavit. Lenhart told the employee to sit on the ground and not to move until he and Brunetto left, the affidavit said.

Brunetto told police that Lenhart had left a black Roxy brand bag in the kitchen during the crime, and when he returned to retrieve it, he told Brunetto that the employees "were in the same positions they were left in." The two men then fled in a blue Honda Civic, the affidavit said.

Brunetto told police that his gun was silver and resembled a lighter, while Lenhart had a black BB gun.

Lenhart and Brunetto are scheduled for preliminary hearings June 23 before District Judge Denise Snyder Thiel. They are being held in the Westmoreland County jail on $100,000 bail.

This article was written by Channel 11's news exchange partners at TribLIVE.

WPXI