Seven men accused of stealing a stuffed bear from a Fayette County restaurant handed over $8,722 to the owner on Tuesday to avoid prosecution on criminal charges, but the bear will not return to its former station.
In exchange for the restitution, John El-Ayazra, owner of Sam's Restaurant and the Eagle's Nest bar in Uniontown, agreed not to pursue charges against the men, ranging from theft and receiving stolen goods to conspiracy and criminal mischief.
"He's been nice enough not to pursue charges, so we'll be dismissing everything," J.W. Eddy, assistant district attorney, told the seven men after they gave the money to El-Ayazra.
"This is a prank; that's what you all said in your statements," Eddy said. "You realize this was a felony. This is something that could have stuck with you for a long time."
Criminal complaints identify the men as John David Freed, 23, of Connellsville; Justin Edward Nelson, 21, of Dunbar; William Gordon, 24, of Chalk Hill; and Andrew Schiffbauer, 25, Nathan Allen King, 23, Jarred Hackney, 23, and Jordan Lonigro, 20, all of Uniontown.
Uniontown police said in criminal complaints the men tossed the bear over a second-story balcony at the Eagle's Nest bar in the early morning hours of Sept. 18, then fled when confronted. They returned a few hours later and took the bear, which they had placed under an outdoor stairway for safekeeping because it was too heavy to return to the balcony.
Most of the men told police they had been drinking at the bar when they came up with the idea as a prank. Their intent was to return it to the bar the following day, according to the complaint, but the plan went awry.
In addition, they were concerned because the incident was the subject of numerous television and newspaper stories.
"Nelson stated on the night of the incident they were at the bar and decided to 'play a prank and kidnap the bear' and return it on Sunday, but the bear was damaged during transportation (and) they tried to fix it but were unable to," said Officer David Hromada in one of the complaints. "While trying to figure out how to fix the bear, they saw how much attention the incident was getting, so they contacted John, the owner, and apologized 'for the stupid prank' and agreed to pay for the cost of restoring the bear."
Police recovered the bear from a house on Lawn Avenue and returned it to the bar. Its upper snout was broken off, its lower jaw was damaged, its claws were removed and its hide was torn under one arm. It was knocked off a flat, circular wooden log that served as its stand, and the stand was damaged.
A taxidermist told El-Ayazra the bear "was beyond repair and needs a replacement hide," according to the criminal complaint. The taxidermist estimated the cost of repair at $8,722, but El-Ayazra said yesterday he chose not to restore it.
"He was never going to be the same," El-Ayazra said. "I just gave it to (the taxidermist), because it will never be the same."
El-Ayazra said he split the insurance proceeds for the bear's loss with the man who shot it in 2001 while on a guided hunting trip to the remote Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. The hunter, Doug Rhodes, 71, of Uniontown had the bear mounted and gave it to El-Ayazra as a gift.
El-Ayazra said he will use the restitution to reimburse the insurance company.
The men's attorney, Jack W. Connor of Uniontown, declined comment after the charges were dismissed, but he told Metros the incident was a "silly" prank.
"Every one of these kids is a respectable kid," Connor said.
