An ousted math teacher allegedly plotted with her husband to exact revenge against officials of the Marion Center Area School District, police said. The couple and an alleged accomplice were jailed Saturday morning after being charged with criminal conspiracy to commit murder in the aftermath of a shooting at the school district administration building Friday afternoon. Irish national Samuel Erwin, 39, of Morgantown, W.Va., — who was also charged with criminal attempt to commit homicide — was upset with the loss of his wife’s job in a dispute with the district more than a year ago, police said. He opened fire against school employees with a small-caliber gun at 1:40 p.m. Friday after he unsuccessfully requested an audience with Superintendent Dr. David Pastrick, of Plum, Allegheny County, who had taken a vacation day, and another absent administrator, Elaine Settlemair, of Indiana, according to police. One secretary was shot in the thigh, and another broke two heels as she fled from the gunman, police said. Erwin left the building and fired a parting shot at a window at the building entrance, according to police. Erwin was being held in the Indiana County Jail under a $500,000 bond set by Clymer District Justice George M. Thachik, who arraigned the trio at 3 a.m. yesterday. His wife, Nancy Lynn Mogle Erwin, 48, who lived with her husband at 10 GW Phillips Villa in Morgantown, was being held in the jail in lieu of $250,OOO bond after being charged with criminal conspiracy to commit criminal homicide. Also facing a charge of conspiracy to commit criminal homicide was Michael J. Fox, 19, of 880 Tonkin Road, who allegedly drove Samuel Erwin from Morgantown to Marion Center and then allegedly helped him make a getaway from the building. A state police spokesman said it appears as if Nancy Erwin knew of her husband’s plans against the two administrators. “There’s information to indicate that,” he said. “It’s being further investigated.” An affidavit of probable cause in the arrests would not be available for inspection until Monday, police said. Officers declined further comment. State police have impounded Nancy Erwin’s vehicle and the Ford Taurus driven by Fox at the barracks in Indiana. Officers plan to seek court approval to search the vehicles and the couple’s home on Monday, a state police spokesman said. Police said Samuel Erwin allegedly pulled a small-caliber pistol from his pocket and began firing after secretary Marcia J. Conner, 48, of Plumville, asked him if he would like to leave a message. Erwin allegedly shot her in the thigh, police said. Another school district employee, Kay Pappal, 48, of Marion Center, ran out of the building as four or five shots were fired and jumped off a ledge, breaking her two heels and dislocating her ankle, according to police. Both women were taken to Indiana Regional Medical Center. Conner was discharged yesterday. Reached at her home last night, she declined to comment about Friday’s events. “I’ve been advised by police” not to discuss the shooting, she said. “I’m feeling pretty good,” she said. “I’ve got a lot of pain, but I’m moving.” Pappal’s condition could not be determined last night. After a manhunt that lasted almost six hours, state police apprehended Samuel Erwin walking along the Pennsylvania Turnpike near New Stanton at 7:20 p.m. Friday. State police at Greensburg had arrested Fox three hours earlier along the Amos K. Hutchinson bypass near New Stanton. Fox claimed Samuel Erwin had gotten out of the car in the Marion Center area, police said. Nancy Erwin, who resigned from Marion Center after a 20-year teaching career and who was teaching math at Morgantown High School, was not home at Morgantown when police tried to contact her immediately after the shooting. She was picked up for questioning on Route 119 between New Stanton and Greensburg. She and Fox, who was reportedly dating her daughter, initially claimed they had no knowledge of Samuel Erwin’s plans for his trip to the Marion Center administration building, police said.
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