Woman Acquitted in Abuse, Theft Case

A jury has come back with a not guilty verdict regarding charges that a York woman manipulated an elderly man in an attempt to steal money from him.

Robin Staehr was accused of attempted theft, which is a Class 4 felony, and abuse of a vulnerable adult, a Class 3 felony. If convicted, she could have been facing a maximum possible sentence of 25 years in prison. Now that a jury has found her not guilty, all charges have been dropped and the case is dismissed.

“In this case, you will hear a daughter tell how she just wants to have her father back,” York County Attorney Tim Sieh told jurors during opening arguments. “You will hear information about events that took place for two years and more importantly events prior to that. (The elderly man’s) daughter will talk about the changes in her father’s attitude, demeanor and behavior, which coincided with two women coming into his life, one being Robin Staehr. That led her and her siblings to institute a guardianship. The court also appointed a conservator because (the man in question) was no longer capable of managing his business himself. The court appointed York State Bank and Joe McCluskey was assigned to manage the account. His duty was to make sure that (the alleged victim’s) money was managed in his best interest.

“Then, in March, 2008, (a neighbor of the individual) received a call from Staehr, asking that he assist her with (the elderly man’s) cattle,” Sieh explained. “He loaded the cattle into his trailer and then Staehr told him to haul the cattle to Columbus, sell them in his (the neighbor’s) name, take the proceeds and give the money to her and (the alleged victim) and take some for himself. He (the neighbor) will testify that in being in the cattle business, he found her request to be out of the ordinary. So he made some calls and contacted McCluskey. At that point, McCluskey told him to go ahead and sell the cattle, but the money should go to (the alleged victim’s) trust, rather than (the victim) because he couldn’t handle it or Staehr because she was not the rightful owner.

“The bank got the money,” Sieh said. “She is not charged with theft, but attempted theft. And she is charged with abuse of a vulnerable adult for exploiting someone who was incapable of managing his own property. There is no doubt you will hear her say she didn’t know she couldn’t do that or that she had authorization from (the elderly man). She was asked by the conservator to leave (the alleged victim) alone but she refused to comply. She took significant steps toward depriving his estate and the bank.”

Staehr’s attorney, Bruce Stephens, told jurors that she misunderstood what she could and couldn’t legally do.

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Woman Acquitted in Abuse, Theft Case