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Johnstown man gets jail time in runaway case

McClellan pleaded guilty to picking up, transporting teens

BEDFORD — A judge sentenced a former Johnstown truck driver — charged with interference of custody for reportedly picking up three juvenile runaways — with 75 days to a year in jail, a year of probation and a $750 fine.

Gordon Charles McClellan, 55, of 283 Cove St., pleaded guilty in October to picking up and transporting a 17-year-old and two 16-year-old runaways, even after hearing a radio transmission about police searching for missing girls the morning of July 25.

McClellan apologized to Judge Travis Livengood on Friday during his sentencing plea, stating he should have turned the runaways in to the police.

Police were trying to locate the three girls who ran away from VisionQuest, a housing facility for at-risk youth, and a Birk Transfer Inc. truck marked with the number 140 they were reportedly transported in.

After hearing the transmission that morning, McClellan picked up the runaways at a truck stop and dropped all of them off at a Sheetz in Johnstown where he instructed them to wait for him, according to a police complaint.

The two 16-year-olds reportedly stayed in Johnstown, while the 17-year-old met up with McClellan. He drove to Chambersburg, where he and the victim stayed overnight before heading to Johnstown in the morning.

Police located the truck driven by McClellan and with 17-year-old in the front passenger seat along Lincoln Highway in Snake Spring Township.

The 17-year-old reportedly told police that McClellan instructed her to give a false name when pulled over by police and offered to buy them designer clothing.

While what McClellan did was “not very smart,” Livengood said there was no indication of kidnapping and that it was not unreasonable to question the credibility of the runaways given the facility they are housed at.

Defense attorney Karen Ritchey said McClellan doesn’t agree with all the details about the incident outlined by police. She pointed out the detail about McClellan leaving his identification information and the names of the three runaways at the truck station was omitted from the police complaint.

McClellan was housed at the Bedford County Jail for 82 days, a period that Ritchey requested be credited toward his sentence.

He originally faced a felony charge of concealment of whereabouts of a child and a misdemeanor charge of interference with custody of committed persons.

Mirror Staff Writer Shen Wu Tan is at 946-7457.

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