Two held for trial in Monongahela robbery
Two men accused of robbing a man and a woman inside a Monongahela house earlier this month were ordered to stand trial Wednesday on charges including robbery and weapons violations despite the sometimes conflicting testimony given by the alleged victims.
The fiancee of Wilbur Lee Larkin Jr., 40, of Donora, who is charged in the case along with Anthony Lamont Green, 42, of Pittsburgh, also testified one of the alleged victims, James Payne of Pittsburgh, reportedly threatened the woman at whose house the incident occurred. As Tonya Consonery, the fiancee of Larkin, was leaving the courtroom with another woman, she told District Judge James Ellis she also was threatened.
Payne and his wife, Shikiara Thomas, went to the home at 10 Loop St. While both agreed they went to the home to get prednisone for Payne, he testified they were also getting medication for his pit bull puppies.
Thomas said they were not there to get medication for the dogs. The two also gave different accounts of the whereabouts of Larkin’s father, who was in the residence.
Green reportedly held a gun to Payne’s neck while Larkin allegedly pointed it at Thomas’ chest. Shikiara Thomas testified she recognized the gun as her own. She said she pushed the gun away and then when out her car to check her glovebox for the weapon. Not finding it, she came back in the house and when she demanded police be called, the two culprits reportedly ran.
Payne testified the car keys along with a “few dollars” were stolen from him, although the keys were later found on a stove on the porch. Thomas reported her gun was stolen that day and testified Wednesday $370 was stolen from her purse that was in the car. Monongahela police Officer Steve Kenyon testified Thomas did not mention on the day of the robbery that money also was stolen.
“This is the first time I am hearing that $370 was stolen and Wilbur Larkin Sr. was in the room,” Kenyon testified.
He also said the victims believed they were set up.
Rose Semple, the public defender representing Green, argued Payne and Consonery contradicted each other and asked Ellis to dismiss the charges against her client. Josh Camson, representing Larkin, told Ellis that all the stories were different and also asked the charges be dismissed.
Ellis also denied requests for bond reductions. Green remains in Washington County jail on $25,000 bond while Larkin is in jail on $50,000 bond.