Mon Valley pair charged in three-county bar burglary spree
State police on Wednesday charged a man and woman from the Mon Valley in connection to a 2023 three-county spree of bar burglaries, including one in which an ATM machine was stolen and found dumped in the Monongahela River.
David Alan Rice, 33, of Charleroi, and Stephanie Denise Hankle, 30, of Monessen, each face felony charges of burglary and criminal use of a communication facility.
According to the criminal complaint, the burglaries occurred between April and November 2023.
Charging documents state that the following establishments were victimized: Dark Horse Saloon, Brenda Lee’s, Starlite Bar, Slavonic Club, Coal Hill Tavern, and Cloverleaf Bar, all in Fayette County; Black Diamond VFW, Watering Hole and Allenport Marina in Washington County; and June Bug’s and Russ’s Tavern, Westmoreland County.
Court records accuse the couple of causing about $8,000 in damages at the bars. Investigators interviewed Rice and Hankle in March 2024, when both allegedly confessed to the burglaries, court paperwork states.
According to the complaint, Rice told police that Hankle would drive him to various locations to commit the crimes, and then he would call her to pick him up when he was done. However, in some cases Rice claimed to have driven himself.
Court records state that Rice admitted to breaking open the cigarette machines and registers at the outdoor bar of Allenport Marina on Aug. 11, 2023, and then went to the register at the indoor bar, fleeing when an alarm went off.
Rice allegedly told police he twice burglarized Dark Horse Saloon on Main Street in Belle Vernon, Fayette County. Police said the first time, he stole $50 to $60 from the poker machines and a pack of cigarettes, on April 23, 2023. According to the complaint, he returned Nov. 30 and removed the bar’s ATM machine with a dolly, loaded it into a pickup truck and drove it to Forward Township, Allegheny County, where he broke it open for approximately $800.
Rice is accused of dumping the ATM in the Monongahela River. It was discovered by Elizabeth Township police on Dec. 16.
According to charging documents, on Aug. 4, Hankle dropped off Rice at Coal Hill Tavern in Brownsville, where he took down security cameras and threw them in the woods.
On multiple occasions, Rice describes breaking into an establishment, only to be unsuccessful in coming away with any money, according to charging documents. At Black Diamond VFW in Monongahela, Rice told police he left after being unable to pry the doors open.
The most he made off with, according to the complaint, was $1,500 from Starlite Bar in Belle Vernon.
At June Bug’s in Sutersville, Rice allegedly stole more than $300 and Hankle acted as a getaway driver, court documents state.
Hankle corroborated Rice’s claims about the burglaries, and said she was not always involved. According to the complaint, she claimed to pick him up from “four or five” bars after receiving a phone call or text message.
Police searched Rice’s cellphone and found communication between him and Hankle during the course of eight incidents.
Though the burglaries took place in multiple jurisdictions, the charges were consolidated and filed by state police at the office of Washington County Magisterial District Judge Eric Porter.
Porter arraigned Rice and Hankle Thursday afternoon and sent them to the Washington County jail. Rice’s bond was set at $100,000, while Hankle’s was set at $50,000, according to court records.
They are scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at 1 p.m. Jan. 23.