Two charged in connection with Pa. woman’s shooting death
Two men are being charged in the shooting that killed a woman and wounded her adult son during a home invasion in Smith Township last month.
Michael Coury Pyles and Walter Lee Winland Jr. are accused of going to the home at 132 Eleanor St. in Langeloth early June 16 with the intent of robbing the residents of drugs, but it instead ended in gunfire that killed 37-year-old Renee Lynn Gill, according to court documents state police filed Wednesday in Washington County.
Police said the two men hatched the robbery plan and dressed in black with ski masks covering their faces before entering the home at gunpoint and demanding drugs from Gill.
Police said Pyles struck Gill in the head with his pistol, prompting her adult son, Ronald Brown, to come down the steps and confront him before a fight ensued.
The gun apparently went off and struck Brown in the wrist, according to court documents. As the fight continued with Pyles and Brown tussling on the floor, the gun went off again, striking Gill in the neck or chest area, police said.
Winland took off his mask and went over to Gill, who recognized him since he had recently lived at her house before getting kicked out, and she called him by his first name multiple times, according to court documents.
Police said Winland and Pyles then left the house and were driven by Pyles’ girlfriend, Alexis Podlasiak, to Akron, Ohio. Gill died inside her house, while Brown was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
After going to Ohio, Winland, Pyles and Podlasiak then drove to Pyles’ father’s house in Moundsville, where the two men allegedly changed clothes, destroyed evidence and discarded the handgun, according to court documents. They then went to a hotel in Glen Dale where they stayed the night.
Winland was arrested in Wheeling on June 20 and found to be in possession of 61 glassine packets with the same “BitCoin” markings on the drugs that had been at Gill’s house, along with nearly $140 in cash. Pennsylvania State Police were notified that Winland was in custody, and he allegedly told investigators that he had hatched a plan with Pyles to rob Gill’s house since he had once lived there and knew she would have drugs and money.
Pyles, 37, of New Martinsville, was charged Wednesday with felony counts of criminal homicide, conspiracy, attempted homicide, aggravated assault and robbery, along with numerous misdemeanor charges. Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh said Pyles is being held without bond at a jail in Ohio, although it is not known when he will be brought back to Washington County.
Winland, 38, is being held without bond at the Northern Regional Jail in West Virginia, and he is expected to be charged today with conspiracy and other counts related to the home invasion and robbery, Walsh said. He added that Podlasiak is not facing charges at this time.
State police are expected to hold a new conference today to formally announce the arrests and release more information on the shooting.