Man gets sentence in death of brother

Claar to serve 6 to 15 years after victim statements

BEDFORD -- A Claysburg man was sentenced to six to 15 years in state prison Friday for fatally shooting his brother after pleading guilty to felony voluntary manslaughter and other charges.

Larry Michael Claar, 43, had been facing first- and third-degree murder and aggravated assault along with misdemeanor counts of simple assault, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. Under a plea agreement offered by the Attorney General's Office, Claar pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, while the murder charges were dismissed.

President Judge Travis Livengood sentenced Claar to six to 15 years in a state prison plus five years' probation. He also fined him $2,500 and ordered restitution of $18,977 to the state crime labs. On the prosecution's suggestion, Livengood also recommended drug and alcohol treatment as well as a mental health evaluation.

On July 24, 2021, Claar fired several rounds at his brother's truck, causing Michael Claar to confront him about 4:30 p.m. that day.

During previous court action, prosecutor Thomas R. Grace went over the facts of the case, saying that responding state police discovered a pool of blood in front of the garage at the Picnic Road address. They also found blood-covered items in a burn barrel.

A witness told police that he had seen Larry Claar driving up and down the road in a recreational vehicle and a blue Chevy pickup truck. Another witness said he had heard Larry Claar operating a tractor, with police later finding a freshly excavated area of dirt behind that witness's property.

After receiving search warrants, police found Michael Claar's body in the excavated area. Larry Claar was taken into custody on Sunday, July 25.

Sawyer Claar, Larry Claar's son and Michael Claar's nephew, spoke during the sentencing hearing, saying that he had wanted a relationship with his father for years but that he had to find out the hard way that "wasn't a good idea."

A senior in high school when the shooting occurred, Sawyer Claar said he had to be home-schooled for the rest of the year because of people talking about the incident and the emotional toll it took on him.

"He's my dad, but he's not," Sawyer Claar said. "He's a monster. I hope he realizes what he's done."

Larry Claar's older son and Michael Claar's other nephew, Larry Claar, also spoke, saying that his father's actions have "sown discord" and caused them to be viewed differently in their community.

"I'm not the person he should be asking forgiveness of," the younger Larry Claar said. "That's between him and God."

When given the opportunity to speak, the defendant Larry Claar said he was sorry to anyone who he had hurt and claimed that he had been on drugs at the time of the shooting.

"If I wasn't doing drugs, this probably wouldn't have happened," the older Larry Claar said.

He has been in prison since his arrest.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.