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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A Blair County jury convicted a North Carolina man Tuesday evening on 17 of the 20 felony counts against him for his role as the "supplier" of a fraud ring.
Jaylon Maurice Speight, 31, of Walstonburg, North Carolina, faced single felony counts of corrupt organizations and dealing in unlawful proceeds, two felony counts each of forgery, access device fraud, theft and receiving stolen property and 10 felony counts of criminal conspiracy.
The jury of seven men and five women deliberated about three and a half hours before finding Speight guilty of single felony counts of corrupt organizations, dealing in unlawful proceeds, forgery, access device fraud and theft, two felony counts of receiving stolen property and 10 felony counts of criminal conspiracy.
Of the guilty verdicts, eight of the counts involved the deposit of a $13,949 check to the Hollidaysburg First National Bank, while five involved the deposit of a $13,289 check to the Altoona First National Bank.
Following the jury's verdict, assistant district attorney Mark Bushnell asked presiding Judge Louis C. Schmitt Jr. to revoke Speight's bail pending sentencing as he would now be facing a "substantial amount of time."
Bushnell said Speight lives in North Carolina and would have no reason to return to Blair County now that he's been convicted of so many felonies.
Defense attorney Scott Pletcher objected to the revocation request, arguing that Speight has appeared for all of his court hearings and has a job as well as a young son.
Schmitt ultimately granted Bushnell's motion, saying "given the nature of (Speight's) offenses, his continued liberty would pose a danger to other people in the community" and he had his doubts that they would be able to guarantee his return from North Carolina.
He then scheduled Speight for sentencing at 2 p.m. Nov. 24. Speight had been free since posting $100,000 on Dec. 31, 2024.
Speight was taken into custody in Ohio alongside Ronald Smith Daniels Jr., 56, of Washington; Shea Anquon Langley, 37, of Greenville, North Carolina; and Quante Tavon Smith, 30, following a monthslong fraud investigation that led to the discovery of their crime ring.
Speight was described as the group's "supplier" and would participate in defrauding various banks across Pennsylvania. An investigation in Blair County began when a Hollidaysburg police detective received a call from a First National Bank fraud investigator, who said a white male, later identified as Daniels, had deposited a fraudulent check for about $13,949 into an account at a Hollidaysburg branch on Nov. 10, 2023, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.