City man wanted in robbery caught in Clearfield

Pfahler had been sought since September 2020

CLEARFIELD -- An Altoona man wanted for an unusual robbery that ended with one of the perpetrators accidentally shooting himself, is in custody again.

Police have been looking for Jeffery David Pfahler, 22, since September 2020 when a bench warrant was issued for him on robbery and firearm charges.

Last Saturday, state police found him in Decatur Township, Clearfield County.

According to the affidavit, on Dec. 18, police saw a vehicle with a disabled brake light and initiated a traffic stop. The driver seemed sluggish and had bloodshot eyes. There was also a strong smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle.

All of the occupants of the vehicle were asked to get out. The front passenger identified himself as Tyler Cobb, with a West Decatur address.

After the driver and another occupant of the vehicle were taken into custody for possessing marijuana, they were questioned about "Cobb," who police believed was lying about his identity.

They reportedly said that Cobb's real name was Jeffery Pfahler.

Police ran a check on Pfahler's name and discovered warrants for him from Blair County.

When they looked at Pfahler's license photo from PennDOT, they were able to recognize him as the front seat passenger and proceeded to the address given by him in West Decatur.

There they found Pfahler sleeping on a couch in the living room. He was taken into custody without incident.

Pfahler allegedly admitted to giving a false name because he knew about the warrants.

Pfahler waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court in Clearfield County on a felony count of flight to avoid apprehension and misdemeanor false identification to law enforcement. He is being held without bail.

The robbery charges stem from an incident on Nov. 6, 2019, in Altoona.

According to a previous article, then 18-year-old Bri Seville arranged to meet a man for dinner. When he picked her up, she asked if he could give her two friends a ride.

Before he dropped them off, they reportedly robbed him at gunpoint and took his wallet.

As they ran away, one of the men, Draven Bush, then 20, shot himself in the leg. The other man, Pfahler, first told police Bush was shot by a passing vehicle, then admitted Bush shot himself, according to the report.

He allegedly also lied and said he met up with Bush after the robbery.

Police believe Pfahler hid the gun used to commit the crime and was involved in the actual robbery.

In this case, Pfahler is charged with robbery, conspiracy, theft, receiving stolen property, false reports, tampering with evidence, possession of firearm prohibited and firearms not to be carried without a license.

Pfahler is also awaiting preliminary hearings for two 2020 cases.

The first case is for a separate possession of firearm charge and the second case, an additional firearm possession with related drug charges. Both are now scheduled for hearings on Jan. 5 in Blair County.

Online court records indicate that Bush pleaded guilty in the robbery case in July 2020 when he received a two- to 10-year state prison sentence.

Seville pleaded guilty to robbery in March 2021 and was given three years' probation.