Charges were filed recently following a 2022 attack and robbery at a Bristol Township motel, according to court papers.
On the night of August 20, 2022, Bristol Township officers were called to the Village Lodge in the 5300 block of Route 13 for a report of a robbery that had just happened. They arrived and met with a man who say he was the victim, police said.
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The man reported that his girlfriend and him were in a verbal argument earlier in the day and she left the motel following, police said.
At 9:48 p.m., the girlfriend – identified as Amber Rycza, 41, of Bristol Township’s Levittown section – returned and knocked on the door. He said she wanted to get something from the room and she was allowed in, police said.
The man said he opened the door and she entered. He then spotted two people – one was identified as Sara Lynn Halter, 43, of Falls Township’s Morrisville section – hiding next to the door, according to police.
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Rycza, Halter, and an unidentified man entered the room. One person had a baseball bat and another a plank of wood, police said.
“One of the subjects put the piece of wood up to [the man’s] throat and held him down, while Rycza stated ‘put him in the bathroom,’” police said in court papers.
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A fourth person – Sasha Nicole St. Clair, 30, of Florida – entered from another room during the melee and kicked the alleged victim before leaving, police said.
The man reported that he had credit cards, his driver’s license, approximately $200 cash, and a backpack with a cell phone worth $800 inside stolen.
The three involved in the incident fled the hotel room toward Route 13, leaving the alleged victim behind, police said.
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Officers on the call reported finding a wood plank on the ground next to the room, broken off wood pieces inside the motel room, and the room was in disarray. They also wrote in court papers a witness informed them they saw the incident before closing their room door.
Police said the alleged victim called them the next day and advised one of his stolen cards was being used at the ATM at the Wawa on Route 13. Multiple withdraws led to $1,200 being taken from his account, police said.
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Police said they obtained security camera footage from the Wawa and watched Ryczaj withdrawing money from the ATM at the times that matched the bank withdraws. Video also showed the woman carrying what appeared to be the man’s bag.
Ryczaj was arrested late last year in the case and faces charges of conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, conspiracy to commit burglary, burglary, access device issued to another who did not authorize use, conspiracy to commit theft, theft, receiving stolen property, identity theft and similar offenses. She was being held as of this week on 10 percent of $100,000 bail.
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Halter was arrested weeks after the incident and charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, conspiracy to commit burglary, burglary, conspiracy to commit theft, theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy to commit reckless endangerment, and reckless endangerment. She was free as of this week on $25,000 unsecured bail.
St. Clair, who is facing charged related to allegedly fleeing state police in 2022, was charged with simple assault and harassment in the incident. She was being held this week on 10 percent of $50,000 bail.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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